Eskom to implement load reduction in several provinces on Tuesday
Guess what’s back? An announcement from embattled power supplier Eskom late on Monday 5 October confirmed that numerous areas in several of South Africa’s provinces will experience load reduction on Tuesday 6 October.
Eskom flip-flop on grid stability
It was swings and roundabouts for Eskom on Monday. First they released the dreaded tweet many have become familiar with that preempts doom, gloom, and darkness: “Our power system is under severe pressure. Please switch off all unnecessary lights, your geyser, pool pump and non-essential appliances.”
Then, only hours later, they boasted that “the electricity grid is currently stable”.
“Thank you for using electricity efficiently,” they said.
Many may have assumed that they’d call it a night after that, but true to their frequently posited dedication to graft, they were working “around the clock”.
“To avoid overloading the Eskom network and damage to our infrastructure in high-density areas that are prone to network overloading, Eskom will implement load-reduction during the morning peak hours of Tuesday 6 October,” they said shortly afterwards.
“Currently, Eskom is battling to keep up with the increased equipment failure caused by overloading that is costing millions to repair.”
Which areas are set to experience load reductions on Tuesday?
A number of areas in the following provinces are set to be hit with morning load reduction on Tuesday:
- Free State: (6:00 – 9:00)
- Gauteng: (5:00-9:00)
- Limpopo: (5:00 – 9:00)
- KwaZulu-Natal (KZN): (7:00-9:00)
- Mpumalanga: (5:00-9:00)
They urged customers not to log faults during this time, having said earlier that they are also experiencing untenable call volumes. They said that all appliances and installations should be treated as “live and dangerous”.
They also said that any bad behaviour, such as meter bypasses, illegal connections, and vandalism of electricity infrastructure should be reported to them urgently.
You can see the specific areas that are affected here:
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