Load shedding, transformer reason for power outage

LYDENBURG – Eskom has moved from stage 1 to stage 2 load-shedding, and there were further interruptions in electricity supply as lighting struck one of the town’s transformers yesterday.

Municipal workers were on scene last night and the electricity tripped on various occasions until 22:00. They are apparently working to restore power to the transformer.

Eskom said that as of Wednesday, stage 2 load-shedding would commence. The power supply will be interrupted twice from 06:00 to 08:30 and again from 16:00 to 18:30.

“We moved to stage 2 in order to manage our reserves at our pumped storage schemes and gas turbines so that we can better manage the rest of the week,” acting CEO, Mr Dan Marokane said.

The service provider said at its pumped storage schemes (where water is used to generate electricity) that the dam levels were low because it had not been able to pump the water back to full capacity over the weekend. This is a result of Eskom having to use its pumped storage schemes over the weekend to meet demand. “Ordinarily, the weekends are used to pump our dam levels to maximum capacity in preparation for the forecast increased demand in electricity during the week. The power grid is extremely constrained and will remain so for the rest of the summer. Eskom calls on consumers to switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day to reduce electricity demand,” it said.

It also requests residents to switch off lights and air conditioners at their workplaces before leaving at the end of the day, with the exception of security lighting.

“Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make a big difference by switching off non-essential lights and not leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers on standby after hours. Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system throughout the day.”