Eskom released a comprehensive presentation on what is planned for the next few months with regards to load shedding.

The presentation gives a schedule for load shedding just in case Eskom is not able to meet the demand and should only be taken as such. This schedule has been mapped out from January all the way to April and the days most likely to have load shedding are weekdays.

Late last year Eskom said that the system is under great strain as a result of many occurrences of unexpected maintenance.

According to Khulu Phasiwe, spokesperson for Eskom, “There was a time around 2010 and before where Eskom kept the lights on by all means necessary and as a result of this, a lot of necessary maintenance was ignored. This is why we are losing so many generators at this point in time.”

Eskom uses summer time to carry out maintenance as this will lead to load shedding. Phasiwe states that this is a difficult, inconvenient, but necessary decision taken by Eskom as this will avoid a complete black out which would prove even more detrimental to the economy and the general public.

Phasiwe states that Eskom apologizes for the inconvenience that the load shedding has caused and will still cause but in the same breath says that it is better to have it done to sort out the issue than to keep the lights on and let the issue grow.

“We know that people live in constant fear of the lights going out but load shedding is necessary to avoid larger issues like total blackouts,” he said.