The spectre of load shedding, which has been kept in abeyance since the Covid-19 lockdown began in late March, has reared its ugly head again.
Eskom said in a statement on Wednesday that it has last several power-generation units and any further losses could plunge the country back into rolling blackouts.
“Eskom requests the public to reduce electricity usage as the power-generation system is still severely constrained,” it said.
The reason for the latest crisis is that one generation unit each at the Kendel and Tutuka power stations have tripped, adding to the Tutuka unit that tripped on Tuesday evening.
“Eskom teams are hard at work trying to return these units to service,” the state-owned monopoly said.
“While the Medupi unit that tripped yesterday evening has been successfully returned to service today, the power generation system remains constrained. Any additional breakdowns will compromise Eskom’s ability to supply the country through the peak demand period of 5pm to 9pm. This constrained supply situation may persist through the weekend.” — (c) 2020 NewsCentral Media
