South Africa News

More blackouts expected

More blackouts expected. Eskom implemented stage two load-shedding over the weekend. It has apologised for the inconvenience and uncertainty that might be caused by the power outages.

South Africans should brace themselves for some darkness as the festive season begins. “We communicated that due to the high unavailability of a plant, Eskom was unable to build the necessary reserves, resulting in the high probability of stage two rotational load-shedding from Sunday,” it said.

The power utility said due to a shortage of generation as a result of units that have not returned to service as expected, rotational load-shedding is implemented from 8 am and is likely to continue until 10 pm.

Eskom“Generation plant continues to be out on planned maintenance and there is a higher than expected number of units on unplanned maintenance due to technical faults.

“Over and above these challenges, we are experiencing low diesel reserves due to the continued pressure on the national grid, resulting in excessive usage of open-cycle gas turbines.”

The power utility said there was a need to build emergency water and diesel resources to limit the possibility of load-shedding this week. “Load-shedding is conducted rotationally as a last resort to protect the power system from a total collapse or blackout.

“We continue to appeal to residents and businesses to use electricity sparingly during this period. Please switch off geysers as well as all non-essential lighting and electrical appliances to assist in reducing demand.”