Eskom issued a press release on 19 December, urging South Africans to heed safety rules as coal-recovery continues over the festive season.
According to them, they take advantage of the low electricity demand during the festive season to intensify plant maintenance and fast-track recovery of stock levels to grid code heights.
The power utility said it is in line with their nine-point-system recovery plan, aimed at improving generation performance and returning the energy availability factor (EAF) to 75% by November next year.
These efforts will result in a higher-than-usual number of coal trucks, especially on the major roads to and from the coal-fired power stations and coal mines, mostly situated in Mpumalanga.
“While the restoration of the power system is an overarching objective, the safety of all South Africans on our roads remains a priority,”Eskom Group Chief Executive, Mr Phakamani Hadebe, said.
Eskom will stop coal haulage during high-peak days when the volume of travellers increases on the roads from 24 December to 27 December and again from 31 December to 1 January next year.
