On Monday 11 April, Eskom put out a “Power Alert”, saying that the generation system is “severely constrained”. The power supplier urged the public to be wary of the amount of electricity being used, otherwise, load shedding may have to be implemented at short notice.
Four breakdowns in one day
Eskom informed the public that four generation units broke down today, while two other units were already offline. The latter was meant to return from service, however, the process has been delayed.
Two breakdowns took place at Camden Power Station and a unit each at Matla and Kriel power stations. And the two delayed units are at Tutuka and Matla power stations.
According to Eskom, they currently have 4 984 MW on “planned maintenance” while 15 514 MW is unavailable due to the breakdowns.
And as cooler weather has begun to show in most of the country, more electricity is automatically being used. This, with the six broken generation units, has caused the system to be under extreme pressure.
Eskom urges the public to reduce electricity use
If the usage of electricity persists, the country may be looking at load shedding in order to “protect the national grid”. And since it is just before another long weekend, the power utility urges the public to reduce electricity where possible.