Eskom Announces Load Shedding at 'Very Short Notice' Looms After Loss of Generating Units

• Embattled power utility Eskom has announced it may need to implement load shedding at short notice
• The national power supplier said the system was severely constrained due to the failure of five of its generating units
• Eskom appealed to the public to help avoid load shedding by reducing electricity consumption

JOHANNESBURG - In its latest notice to the public, Eskom warned that load-shedding is likely to be implemented at short notice after experiencing breakdowns in five of its units on Tuesday.

The embattled national power supplier said the system was severely constrained, resulting in needing to implement outages should there be any further breakdowns.

"With no load shedding currently implemented, Eskom requests the public to reduce the usage of power as the supply is [currently] severely compromised," Eskom said in a statement.

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“Generation units at several power stations have failed throughout the day, with three breaking down all in the space of two hours.

"Load shedding would need to be implemented at very short notice in the event of a further loss of generation capacity,” the statement added.

Seven power stations in all affected

News24 reported that a unit apiece has been lost at Kusile and Majuba power stations to repair boiler tube leaks.

Further, units tripped at Kriel, Majuba, and Matimba power stations, while the return to service of a unit each at Kendal and Tutuka was delayed.

TimesLIVE reported that total breakdowns have increased to 16 822MW while planned maintenance is 4 888MW of capacity.

"We appeal to citizens to help us avoid load shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off non-essential items," Eskom added.

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“We will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the power system.”

Joburg residents march to Eskom in protest against CEO Andre de Ruyter

In more news on the embattled power supplier, Briefly News previously reported that scores of people marched down in anger and frustration to Eskom Megawatt Park head offices at Sunninghill, Johannesburg.

The march was in protest against the rolling blackouts that have gripped the entire nation. Residents said they want the Minister of Public Enterprises, and Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter to be fired for the ongoing outages.

Last week, de Ruyter stated that he had no intention of stepping down as the head of the power utility and would only take that action if the Eskom board told him to do so, reports the Daily Maverick.

Residents express their frustrations at Eskom march One woman who was in attendance at the protest told SABC News reporters that she was tired of living without electricity.

Source: Briefly News