Eskom hopes early warning on load shedding to assist Education dept

This as the power utility implements day two of load shedding on Thursday, to curb the severely constrained electricity system.

Power utility Eskom said it is hopeful that the early warning on load shedding will assist South Africans, businesses, and the Department of Education to plan accordingly, and to minimize individual risk.

This as the power utility implements day two of load shedding on Thursday, to curb the severely constrained electricity system.

"Eskom regrets and sincerely apologizes to our customers and South Africans, particularly to our matriculants, for the inconvenience. We will keep South Africans informed about the status and our recovery efforts throughout this period," said Eskom Acting Group CEO Jabu Mabuza.

On Wednesday, Eskom announced that due to loss of additional generation, delays in the return to service of units that are on planned maintenance and limited diesel supply, it has become necessary to implement stage two rotational load shedding in order to protect the power system from a total collapse.

Following the load shedding announcement by Eskom, the Basic Education Department which had commenced with practical exams in Computer Applications and Information Technology on Wednesday and Thursday said it would monitor the impact and look at contingency measures where necessary.

"In order to protect the power system from a total collapse or blackout and having taken into account all the recovery efforts currently being implemented, our prognosis for Thursday is that stage 2 rotational load shedding will be implemented from 09:00 to 23:00.

"This requires that a total of 2000MW be load shed throughout the country," said Mabuza.

Eskom appealed to residents and businesses to use electricity sparingly throughout the day:

Set air-conditioners' average temperature at 23ºC

Switch of your geysers over peak periods

Use the cold water tap rather than using the geyser every time

Set your swimming pool pump cycle to run twice a day, three hours at a time for optimal energy use.

At the end of the day, turn off computers, copiers, printers and fax machines at the switch. Avoid standby or sleep mode.

Customers are advised to check their load shedding schedules on the Eskom or municipal website.

Eskom customers can check their load shedding schedules on the Eskom website (loadshedding.eskom.co.za) or through the customer contact centre on 0860037566.

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)