Rolling power cuts are likely to continue all week as Eskom struggles to bring generating units back online, the struggling state-owned power utility said on Monday.
Already, load shedding at stage 1 will commence at 5pm on Monday and continue until 10pm. This is due to the loss of two generating units at Kusile and one each at Kendal and Tutuka, Eskom said.
“These constraints have been exacerbated by delays in returning a unit each at the Kusile, Duvha and Matla power stations,” it said. “Breakdowns currently total 15.6GW of capacity, while planned maintenance is 1.3GW of capacity.”
The likelihood of load shedding is high for the rest of the week as the power system remains constrained and vulnerable, the utility said.
“These capacity constraints will continue for the foreseeable future and all South Africans are urged to reduce their use of electricity, particularly between 5pm and 10pm when winter demand is the highest.” — (c) 2021 NewsCentral Media