Load shedding a last resort – Eskom
Eskom says it will implement load shedding when absolutely necessary.
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On Thursday afternoon, the power utility alerted South Africans of a high risk of load shedding following a shortage of capacity due to the loss of generating units at its power stations.
The power utility had also received additional megawatts than projected from the wind power plants.
At a media briefing earlier this month, Eskom shared its Winter Plan where it indicated that it expects to implement 26 days of Stage 1 load shedding during the winter period, depending on the level of unplanned breakdowns.
“Based on the Winter Plan, Eskom has successfully managed to go through 5 days without load shedding, where Stage 1 load shedding would have been implemented,” it said on Thursday night.
Also Read: Here’s what to do during load shedding
Eskom has appealed to residents and businesses to use electricity smartly and sparingly.
“By rallying together we can contribute to a saving of up to 500MW, which is equivalent of 1 unit at a power station. Please switch off geysers as well as all non-essential lighting and electricity appliances to assist in reducing demand,” it said.