Durban load shedding and extra blackouts expected this week

eThekwini Municipality has advised residents of some parts of Durban to brace for blackouts over and above Eskom’s load shedding as the city prepares for essential  maintenance of its electricity  infrastructure. 

eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Msawakhe Mayisela said in a statement on Monday that residents living around Inanda Glebe, KwaMashu (H and M sections and  Ntuzuma A, B, E, F and G Sections will expereice electricity outages on Thursday 18 March 2021.

“This is as a result of essential maintenance at the 132/11 kV Ntuzuma Substation as part of improving the reliability and quality of supply to customers,” he said

eThekwini Municipality electricity unit head, Maxwell Mthembu, urged residents to prepare themselves as for the interruption of electricity supply from 8am until 4pm. 

“The City appeals for patience while maintenance work is being executed. All customers are urged to treat all installations as live. The Municipality apologises for any inconvenience caused,” Mayisela said.

 For further information and enquiries residents can contact the eThekwini Municipality contact centre on 080 1313 111.  

 The latest announcement of outages come after Eskom extended national Level 2 Load shedding until 5am on Wednesday. In Durban load shedding has impacted businesses and residents since last week.

“Over the past two days, Eskom teams successfully returned a generation unit each at the Matimba and Medupi power station. However, during the weekend we have suffered further breakdowns at five power stations, putting further strain on the generation capacity,” Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said in a statement.

“Additional breakdowns have occurred at the Tutuka, Majuba, Kusile, Matimba and Duvha, adding to previous breakdowns at the Kriel and Kendal power stations. Further to this we have had delays in units returning to service at Hendrina, Duvha and restoring full load on the Cahora Bassa line.”

He said Eskom currently had 6 545MW on planned maintenance, while another 12 915MW of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. 

“This has led to our inability to supply the demand. Eskom is working hard to return the units back to service. Eskom will continue to assess and communicate promptly as the situation changes,” he said.