MBOMBELA – Eskom will implement stage two load-shedding from 10:00 which is likely to continue until 22:00. There is a slight chance that the company will need to move to stage three. According to Eskom, this is due to a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently out of service due to planned and unplanned outages.
Stage two load-shedding requires a reduction of about 2 000 megawatts – meaning that although certain areas will be without electricity for a certain period, about 93 per cent of South Africans will still continue to receive full power supply at that time.
Eskom requests all customers to assist in managing demand by switching off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day. This will reduce electricity demand and thus alleviate pressure on the electricity grid. It should be noted that Eskom implements load-shedding as a last resort to protect the national grid from a total shutdown. It utilise all necessary emergency resources at its disposal, but if demand does not decrease, Eskom implements load-shedding.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make a huge difference by switching off non-essential lights and not leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours.
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