SABRINA DEAN – Power provider Eskom says although it has been managing to meet daily electricity requirements through the recent cold snap, it is still urging consumers to save electricity wherever possible.
Spokesperson Andrew Etzinger says Eskom has not had to implement national load shedding this past week:
“Cold weather has definitely led to an increase in electricity demand and that’s normal for this time of year, we see cold fronts coming through.
“Fortunately, from Eskom’s point of view, we expected cold weather in July and cut back on our planned maintenance programme and have more capacity available. so far so good,” he says.
He says despite high demand last night, Eskom still managed to meet demand and expects the same to be true tonight and tomorrow night.
Etzinger says there have been isolated problems along parts of the network across the country, mostly relating to overloading, transformers and substations, but says the national grid has ample supply at the moment, particularly during daylight hours.
He adds, however, the early evening from around 17:30 to 18:30 remains critical and urges all consumers to switch off non-essential appliances, including lights and heaters in unoccupied rooms, geysers and pool pumps.
Date:
