Eskom has announced that its generation system had improved enough that the outlook was positive.
Load-shedding is, therefore, not expected today (18 February).
This, however, does not mean that load-shedding will not be experienced this week. The power utility said the system remained vulnerable and that load-shedding could be implemented at short notice if there were any additional changes in the system performance.
“Additional generating units have successfully returned to service and emergency reserves are at adequate levels. Eskom will communicate regularly.”
The power utility said unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 10 853MW as at 6 am this morning while planned maintenance was at 5 353MW.
“There is a possibility of increased load-shedding over the next 18 months as we are conducting critical maintenance to restore the ageing plant to good health.”
Eskom urged customers to help can help reduce demand by doing the following:
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Take a short shower instead of filling up a bathtub with hot water
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Only boil the amount you need, not the whole kettle
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Switch off your geysers over peak periods
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Always match the pot to the size of the stove plate
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Set air-conditioners’ average temperature at 23ºC
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Use the cold water tap rather than using the geyser every time
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Set your swimming pool pump cycle to run twice a day, three hours at a time
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At the end of the day, turn off computers, copiers, printers and fax machines at the switch
Eskom once again appealed to customers to revisit their load-shedding schedules on the Eskom or local municipal websites, depending on their electricity supplier, to review amendments.
Related article:
https://alexnews.co.za/151302/low-risk-load-shedding-today-17-february/