On Monday 9 May, Eskom sent out a ‘Power Alert 1’ that warned South Africans of possible short notice loadshedding for the week.
Eskom’s current struggle: evening peaks
According to the power supplier, the system is even more constrained now that winter weather is more prominent, especially at night. And so, if there should be any more breakdowns of units, short notice loadshedding may have to be implemented.
Currently, there are broken down units at Kusile and Kendal power stations that Eskom hopes to have back online by tonight.
There are also multiple units that have been delayed to get back online from service at Matimba, Lethabo, Hendrina and Tutuka power stations.
However, if any of these units are not successfully fixed and any more breakdowns are experienced, the chances of loadshedding are extremely high.
All consumers are urged to be mindful
There is currently 3 049 MW on planned maintenance and 14 985 MW of capacity is unavailable.
And with more electricity being used during the colder months, Eskom urges all consumers to be mindful when it comes to the usage of electricity.
The peaks when the most electricity is used are the following:
- Between 16:00 – 22:00 at night
- Between 05:00 – 09:00 in the morning