Load shedding warning: Eskom says high likelihood of power cuts this week

Eskom said the power system is severely constrained and load shedding may be implemented at short notice if there are any significant breakdowns, in a statement on Monday, 20 June.

ESKOM SAYS POWER CUTS LIKELY

The pressure on the system continues due to the ongoing shortage in generation capacity, said the national power supplier. The power system is most vulnerable during the evening on Monday – “and for the next few weeks.”

“There are a number of generating units expected to return to service during the day today but the likelihood of load shedding is high and may be required at short notice, most likely during the evening peaks between 17:00 and 22:00,” said the beleaguered parastatal.

At the moment, 14 623MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns while a further 5232MW is offline due to planned maintenance.

Eskom said it would continue to monitor the system and raise the load shedding alarm if necessary. If the shortage in generation capacity continues there will be an elevated risk of load shedding over the coming weeks.

“We would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid,” said the power supplier, advising customers to use electricity sparingly for essentially the busiest times of the day – 5:00 to 9:00 in the morning and 16:00 to 22:00 in the evenings.

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