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Eskom, is load shedding back? That is the question Gauteng residents are asking themselves on Sunday, after power outages were reported across several neighbourhoods.
At 7pm, Eskom issued a red power alert, warning customers that the power system “is under severe pressure”.
The embattled power utility called on South Africans to switch off all unnecessary lights, the geyser, your pool pump, and other non-essential appliances.
Meanwhile, outages have been reported in Florida, Maraisburg, Witpoortjie, Honeydew, Constantia Kloof, Helderkruin, Wilgeheuwel, Weltevreden Park, and Discovery on the West Rand.
Update: Additional outages have also been reported in Florida Park, Fleurhof, and Wilropark. City Power said it’s aware of the “total loss of supply in Roodepoort areas”.
City Power said the Central and Roodetown substations are off “due to a trip at Eskom Princess substation”.
Eskom operators have been dispatched and no estimated time of return is available at this stage.
This is a developing story, more to follow.
Load shedding fears sparked earlier this month when Eskom rolled out a staggered shutdown of both units at the Koeberg nuclear power station.
The scheduled refuelling and maintenance at Koeberg placed addition strain on an already overburdened power system.
Unit 2 would be offline for five months before Unit 1 is switched off, also for a period of five months.
As it stands, most of Eskom’s power stations fail to meet South Africa’s energy demand and many fear the staggered repairs at Koeberg will only exacerbate an already dire situation.
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