Eskom prepared for Eloise
With several Eskom power stations situated in Mpumalanga, the electricity giant said it has put contingency plans in place in preparation for any difficulties caused by Cyclone Eloise.
“Eskom has assessed the risks and the possible impact on our infrastructure and the provision of electricity,” said the statement.
“Several plans are in place in anticipation of the storm, and Eskom is also covering a wider area than what is predicted by the weather specialists to ensure we are not caught off guard.”
Eskom said that most of its power stations are in Mpumalanga with two other major power stations in Lephalale.
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“These power stations have been alerted and have begun making preparations to implement the ‘wet coal’ contingency plans.
“Typically, heavy rainfall for four or less days does not pose a significant threat to power station operations, but continuous heavy rainfall for more than four days does hamper coal handling at the power stations and the mines supplying them,” said the statement.
Eskom said there are some power stations in the Mpumalanga area that have been experiencing ash dam constraints and that continuous heavy rainfall over these power stations could hamper operations and recovery efforts already underway.
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“The storm will also cross the transmission lines that import approximately 1 000MW of power into South Africa from Cahorra Bassa in Mozambique.
“While these lines and towers were reinforced a few years back after flooding downed towers, the two lines do still remain vulnerable during a tropical storm such as Eloise.”
The statement added they are working closely with the National Disaster Management Centre, the Provincial Disaster Management Centres in Limpopo, Mpumalanga and Kwa-Zulu Natal, as well as the local government authorities to ensure minimal disruption of supply to customers.
