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City Power has warned residents that if they do not reduce electricity consumption, it may lead to prolonged power outages.
The regional power utility said due to the current cold weather conditions, it is experiencing a further increase in energy consumption levels after the South African Weather Service (SAWS) warned of temperatures dropping on Monday.
The worst of the cold weather is expected from Monday through to Tuesday.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena urged residents in Johannesburg to use electricity sparingly during the cold spell as failure to do so may result in further energy demand, which will put a severe strain on the network.
“City Power urges customers to reduce the rate at which they are using electricity as with the temperature dropping, we observe the energy consumption levels increasing at a very high rate. We have been warning our customers of the strain on the system due to the high levels of electricity usage.
“In recent weeks, we have been recording sharp increase in electricity demand, exerting unbearable pressure on the network and resources thereof. We would like to continue the appeal to our customers to use energy efficiently to prevent overloading the network. The network overload may cause the electricity equipment to fail which will result in prolonged outages,” Mangena said.
While Mangena urged customers to use alternative methods to keep warm, he also warned them to refrain from illegal connections and meter tampering as these contribute significantly in overloading the network.
City Power said the current areas of concern where the electricity consumption levels are high include:
Meanwhile, Eskom said load shedding remains suspended until further notice, due to the ongoing structural improvement in the reliability of the generation fleet.
Load shedding has currently been suspended for 65 consecutive days.
The last time South Africa experienced such an extended suspension of load shedding was the period between 5 December 2021 and 2 February 2022.
ALSO READ: Presidency dismisses load shedding claims as ‘ill-guided political ploy’
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