Eskom ‘cautiously confident’ over festive break

THE public can breathe a sigh of relief as power utility, Eskom has confirmed a low risk of load shedding this week and for the rest of the festive season.

However, due to the underlying shortage of additional generating capacity, the power system remains vulnerable – meaning that any extra load or faults in the system may necessitate the need to implement load shedding.

With many industries winding down their business for the festive season, coupled with return to service of some of the power generating units and building up of emergency reserves, Eskom is cautiously confident that it will not have to implement load shedding during this period. The power utility will use this period of low electricity demand to intensify its plant maintenance programme.
Eskom calls on the public to pull together over the next few months and use electricity sparingly at all times.

When preparing to go on holidays, remember to:

* Unplug all appliances such as computers, coffee machines, television sets and entertainment consoles.

* Fix leaky taps as allowing water, especially hot water, to drip down the drain wastes both water and electricity.

* Replace conventional outdoor lights with motion-sensor lamps for security. They use less electricity because they only activate when the sensor is triggered.

* Switch to solar powered garden lights; which uses the free energy of the sun and gives your electricity usage a rest.

* Make sure the back-up batteries on your electric fencing and intruder detection system are in optimal working order. Replace them if necessary.

* Set your pool pump to operate for four hours per day – it is enough to keep the pool clean while it is not being used.

* Ensure the pool pump is set to run outside 5pm to 9pm, the period of peak demand for electricity in South Africa.

ps

In case of Loadshedding, click here to see the schedule supplied by eThekwini