Cold showers as load shedding kicks in
Geysers across all suburbs were switched off from 8am to 10pm after the electrical department of the Newcastle Municipality received a call from Eskom.
Residents were treated to a cold shower on Sunday, courtesy of Eskom.
Geysers across all suburbs were switched off from 8am to 10pm after the electrical department of the Newcastle Municipality received a call from Eskom.
On Sunday afternoon, a coal silo at the Majuba Power Station collapsed, causing a national electricity crisis. The power station is situated between Volksrust and Amersfoort, approximately 90 kilometers from Newcastle.
Load shedding throughout the week seemed imminent. However, a status update bulletin issued by Eskom on Monday declared that such steps might not be necessary.
The bulletin confirmed that no load shedding was taking place on Monday, and they did not anticipate load shedding on Tuesday as ‘additional units have been returned from maintenance’.
Any problems with electricity supply should be localised issues.
“The risk of load shedding has reduced significantly and the prognosis for the week is better than expected. The system will be under extreme pressure on Wednesday and Thursday as the water reserves that we built up over the weekend for our peaking plants will be depleted,” read the statement.
The statement also claimed that work at the Majuba Power Station had progressed better than early expectations.
