Eskom has announced that stage two load shedding will be implemented from 5pm on Tuesday evening due to continued power supply constraints.
The power supplier had implemented stage two load shedding on Monday evening and suspended it by Tuesday morning.
“Eskom would like to inform the public that this constrained power supply will persist throughout the week, with the possibility that more load shedding is likely to be implemented should the generation capacity deteriorate further.
“We are managing the emergency generation reserves to limit the stage of load shedding. The overnight load shedding will be used to replenish the dam levels at the power storage power stations in preparation for the rest of the week,” the power supplier said.
The load shedding will be suspended at 5am on Wednesday morning.
According to Eskom, some 14 449MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns with a further 4804MW are also unavailable due to planned maintenance.
“Eskom would like to apologise for the implementation of load shedding and would like to reiterate that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort in order to protect the national grid. We will communicate should there be any significant changes to the supply situation,” the national power utility said.
According to Eskom, several generating units were lost overnight and technicians are working hard to resolve the issue.
“Three generating units at the Camden power station tripped during the night, contributing to the current shortage of capacity. Eskom teams are working hard to return as many of these units to service as [soon] as possible,” the power utility said.
Meanwhile, Eskom Gauteng Cluster Senior Manager for Customer Services Daphne Mokwena has advised consumers in the province to use electricity wisely as the winter season rolls in and demand increases.
“We urge customers to collaborate with us in managing their consumption by switching off non-essential appliances such as heaters and geysers during the evening peak period, and to consider using alternative heating methods.
“While continuing with work to sustain services, we will also intensify credit management, revenue collection and energy losses reduction efforts to ensure that we stay afloat to meet our financial obligations,” said Daphne Mokwena. – SAnews.gov.za
