No-load shedding expected, Eskom says while power system tight

“We expect some units to come back online during the day and we have adequate reserves for our emergency generators,” said Eskom on Monday morning.

Eskom says while the power system is tight this morning, no load shedding is expected for today.

“We are working hard to stabilize our generation fleet in order to ensure that we meet today’s demand.

“We expect some units to come back online during the day and we have adequate reserves for our emergency generators,” said Eskom on Monday morning.

According to the power utility, unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 13 867 MW as of 6 am this morning.

“Should we lose some generation units during the day, we will use emergency reserves and may implement load shedding in the evening.

“However, if we experience drastic changes in the system, load shedding may be implemented earlier in the day,” said Eskom.

Citing an aging fleet that requires higher levels of maintenance, Eskom said the power system remains vulnerable and volatile, adding that getting back to stability will take some time.

Eskom called on customers to reduce their demand while it works on improving the effectiveness of its maintenance.

“We are hard at work to bring back generation units that were on planned maintenance and those that experienced breakdowns in order to increase available capacity.

“We are monitoring the system closely and we will continue to give periodic updates on the status of the power system as things may change at short notice,” Eskom said. 

(With Inputs from South African Government Press Release)