Stage 2 load shedding this afternoon as power use surges

Eskom says it will implement Stage 2 loadshedding from 2pm until 10pm as electricity usage has surged.

“Demand has significantly increased due to the cold weather. Demand is currently 2 000 MW higher than yesterday, and it is forecast that evening peak demand will be much higher than yesterday and the highest so far this year,” the power utility said in a statement.

This has been putting severe strain on the system, forcing Eskom to burn large amounts of diesel in order to confine loadshedding to Stage 1.

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“This is rapidly depleting our diesel stocks, jeopardising the ability to utilise these resources for the remainder of the week,” the power utility said.

“Eskom teams are working hard to return to service additional generation units, we urge consumers to assist by reducing the usage of electricity.

“While we appreciate it is cold, we urge the public to assist by switching off heating appliances, geysers and other appliances in order to alleviate the pressure on the system.

This afternoon a generation unit each at the Medupi and Kusile power stations tripped, Eskom said, contributing to the constrained capacity. “This adds to the two delayed generation units at the Tutuka power station and one at Kendal.”

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