Load-shedding alert for the weekend
ESKOM has warned South Africa of a high risk of load shedding this weekend, saying it needed to replenish emergency reserves, including water and diesel, to limit the possibility and magnitude of load shedding next week.
“While the risk remains high, load shedding will only be implemented if absolutely necessary.
“We remind customers that load shedding is a controlled measure which protects the power system from a total collapse or blackout,” Eskom said.
It urged customers to use electricity sparingly. “Please switch off geysers and pool pumps as well as all non-essential lighting and electric appliances, to assist in reducing demand.
“Customers are advised to keep checking their load-shedding schedules on the Eskom and their municipal websites, and plan on the assumption that load shedding will take place,” it said.
Eskom’s latest round of load shedding started soon after President Cyril Ramaphosa announced at his State of the Nation Address that it would be split into three entities made up of generation, transmission and distribution.
Ramaphosa had said the government would give more financial support to the state-owned company, which has R225 billion in government-guaranteed debt.
A special cabinet committee on Eskom to discuss the contentious restructuring of the struggling power utility is to hold more meetings with organised labour.
“The meeting with labour reported on the problems with Eskom’s operations and generation system, maintenance and unplanned outages,” the cabinet said at its meeting on Wednesday, when Deputy President David Mabuza reported on the committee’s engagements.
Meanwhile, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa said this week that it would announce its decision on Eskom’s third multiyear price hike and revenue applications at a media briefing on Thursday, March 7.
Eskom had applied to increase electricity tariffs by 15% annually over the next three years to recover revenue totalling R762bn from electricity users.