Eskom says the possibility of load shedding on Tuesday has increased due to higher unplanned breakdowns of power generating units on Monday. The power utility added, however, that it did not expect to implement power cuts if breakdowns did not escalate, as it had employed more emergency reserves to supplement supply.
But while unplanned breakdown of generating units decreased to 13 297 by Monday afternoon from 13 804 MW on Monday morning, Eskom said its system remained constrained and unpredictable.
"Load shedding could be implemented at short notice if there is a change in the generation system performance," said the power utility in a statement issued on Monday evening.
Eskom managed to keep lights on for the whole of last week despite a number of generating units being offline and the planned ramp-up of its maintenance schedule. By 15:40 on Monday afternoon, planned maintenance outages stood at 3 683MW, almost half the 6 511MW the utility had taken offline for maintenance on Monday morning.
The cash-strapped utility has warned of an increased likelihood of power cuts for the foreseeable future as it conducts maintenance on its fleet of ageing power plants. It is appealing to electricity users to switch off geysers during peak hours, limit swimming pool pump cycles to two a day, and to unplug unused electronics, among other things.
Compiled by Londiwe Buthelezi
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