Eskom denied on Tuesday morning that “load shedding” has started, according to an interview broadcast on radio station SAfm.
According to radio reports, there were power cuts on Monday evening in Roodepoort, west of Johannesburg, Greymont in Randburg, and Houghton in northern Johannesburg.
But Eskom spokeswoman Hilary Joffe said: “They are not related to any national issues, even though the power system is tight. We are aware of some power interruptions in certain municipal areas, so I think people should contact whoever their supplier is. I can’t speak for municipalities, but you do at any time find there will be interruption due to technical faults.”
Joffe said Eskom was determined not to have to revert to scheduled power cuts.
“When you talk about load shedding, we are determined not to get there. Load shedding would be a national phenomenon and it would not be specific to one province,” she said.
“If we get very unlucky and it would happen, it would follow protocol which would rotate around all the areas of the country,” she told SAfm.
Asked why some municipalities had already put up “load-shedding schedules”, she said the electricity regulator had since 2010 required all electricity distributors to maintain “load-shedding schedules as a preparedness measure”. — Sapa