POWER ALERT 2
Stage 2 rotational loadshedding moves up to Stage 4 from 14:00 today
Friday, 06 December 2019: Eskom has lost additional generation units this morning and with units not having returned to service as scheduled, unavailable capacity has increased to about 13 000MW. This with a higher demand of about 1000MW, necessitates loadshedding to move up from Stage 2 to Stage 4 from 14:00 today. This is expected to continue until 06:00 tomorrow morning (Saturday). Eskom will communicate if there is a change on the power system and a drop in the loadshedding stage.
In addition, the increase in the loadshedding stage is intended, among other things, to cater for unplanned further trips and to create capacity to replenish water reserves for our pumped storage schemes. We continue to utilise diesel and water resources at our open cycle gas turbines and pumped storage schemes respectively, to supplement capacity.
With the incessant rain, we are beginning to experience coal-handling problems at a number of our power stations as a result of wet coal, which has led to generation units being unable to produce power. If the wet weather persists, we are likely to implement loadshedding throughout the weekend.
Stage 4 calls for 4000MW to be rotationally loadshed nationally at a given period.
Eskom’s Emergency Response Command Centre (ERCC) continues to monitor the system, while our technical teams continue to work around the clock to return additional units to the grid.
A concerted collective effort to reduce demand can help to avoid or lessen the level of loadshedding. As we are experiencing rainy and cold weather conditions in some parts of the country, we ask that you use efficient heating to keep warm and switch off your geysers over peak periods. At the end of the day, turn off computers, copiers, printers and fax machines at the switch. Avoid stand-by or sleep mode.
We will keep South Africans informed about the status of the electricity system and our recovery efforts throughout this period.
Eskom customers can check their loadshedding schedules on the Eskom website (loadshedding.eskom.co.za) or through the customer contact centre on 0860037566.
We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience during this difficult period.
Statement issued by Eskom, 6 December 2019
