Load shedding. Picture: iStock
Despite a “tight” power system, Eskom said on Monday morning it was working hard to stabilise its generation fleet to ensure that today’s demands were met.
“We expect some units to come back online during the day, and we have adequate reserves for our emergency generators,” the power utility confirmed.
As of 6am, unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 13,867 MW. Emergency reserves will be used should generation units be lost during the day, but this could result in load shedding being implemented in the evening.
“However, if we experience drastic changes in the system, load shedding may be implemented earlier in the day,” Eskom warned.
At present, Eskom’s power system is “vulnerable and volatile”, with an ageing fleet requiring high levels of maintenance. Stability will take some time, and customers are urged to reduce consumption while it works on improving maintenance effectiveness.
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