ESKOM|MEDIA STATEMENT Eskom makes progress on plant maintenance Monday, 01 December 2014: Eskom’s decision to implement load shedding over the weekend in order to build up its reserves has paid off as the system is in a better state today. The decision to undertake load shedding over the weekend was taken to restore water and diesel reserves for the week, to allow maintenance at the Cahora Bassa hydroelectric power station in Mozambique, and to do a small amount of weekend maintenance. The Chief Executive of Eskom Mr Tshediso Matona says: “The sacrifice that South Africans made over the weekend has not been in vain. Three units (Majuba 6, Drakensburg 1 and Lethabo 5) that were out of service due to technical problems were repaired over the weekend giving back much-needed megawatts into the system. Diesel supplies have recovered significantly while our dam levels were at full capacity this morning. Imports from Cahora Bassa were fully restored to 1 530 MW by Monday morning. This puts the electricity system at a much better state to face the week ahead. We sincerely thank the public for their support and understanding as we go through this challenging period of a severely constrained power system.” Stage 2 rotational load shedding was implemented on Saturday from 6:00 to 21:00. There was some improvement in the performance of the system, which led to a shorter load shedding period, which ended an hour earlier on Saturday and less intense on Sunday moving from stage 2 to stage 1 from 8:00 until 21:00. Eskom continues to work on improving its load shedding schedules and co-ordinating with municipalities to ensure that customers can plan their lives better. We do recognise that there were some difficulties with regard to the availability of load shedding schedules, especially for Gauteng. This was due to an IT glitch which has since been addressed. We apologise for any inconvenience that this may have caused. The electricity system will remain constrained this week requiring use of emergency reserves (water and diesel power plants) to meet demand especially during peak hours. Eskom is monitoring the system closely. Any unforeseen technical problems at power stations or an increase in demand due to weather conditions could necessitate the implementation of rotational load shedding. Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system through all the media platforms. Eskom calls on consumers to switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day to reduce pressure on the power system. In the event that load shedding becomes necessary, Eskom will use the published load shedding schedules which are available on the Eskom website loadshedding.eskom.co.za for Eskom customers. Eskom customers can also contact our customer call centre on 0860 037 566. Municipal customers should contact their municipalities for information. For tips on how to trim 10% off your consumption, please visit eskom.co.za/idm. ENDS
Posted on: Tue, 02 Dec 2014 04:26:18 +0000
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