Eskom warned today that the power system is under severe pressure and urged the public to reduce the use of electricity.

“While no load-shedding is currently being implemented, Eskom requests the public to reduce the consumption of electricity as any further losses of generation capacity would force the implementation of load-shedding at very short notice.

“The loss of multiple generators over the weekend, as well as delays in returning some generation units to service, has made for a very constrained power system this afternoon,” the power utility said in a media statement.

Eskom said it is working on returning generation units at Matimba, Duvha and Arnot power stations before the evening peak hits. A generation unit each at Arnot, Kendal, Matla and Tutuka power stations were restored today, but this might not be enough to keep the lights on.

“We will still be heavily reliant on emergency reserves to meet demand tonight. Emergency reserves are healthy to assist in reducing the supply deficit. We currently have 4 533MW on planned maintenance, while another 13 601MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.”