Wednesday,
20 May 2020: Eskom’s equipment
failure rate following the implementation of its load reduction initiative on
13 May 2020, in the Gauteng residential areas is showing a positive trend and
we would like to further improve and contain it during this winter period. In
addition, customers are experiencing less outages as a result of the measures
in place. In the past three years (2017 to 2019), Eskom in Gauteng has recorded a significant number of pole-mounted
transformers and mini substations which failed because of network overloading
during the winter period. “The measures
we have put in place are curbing these failures. As a response to the
overloading, we urge our customers in particularly high-density areas and those
with multiple and/or backyard dwellings to use only essential energy in an
effort to avoid load reductions and prolonged outages due to network faults, as
a result of overloading. We would like to reiterate that the load reductions
are implemented in the identified areas or networks that are overloaded. Our
commitment remains to provide electricity safely without degenerating the
assets. It is important to run our
operations efficiently and curb financial losses as a result of illegal
activities that cause overloading, as this is costly and unsustainable. The
electricity service is crucial for other essential service providers during the
nation’s lockdown period”, said Motlhabane Ramashi, Gauteng Maintenance and
Operations Senior Manager.
The power utility recently reported that it is experiencing a high energy demand during peak periods
in the mornings and evenings between 05:00
and 09:00, and again between 17:00
and 21:00 and has therefore implemented the load reduction to protect assets from repeated failure
and explosions resulting from illegal connections, meter tampering, and
vandalism of the electricity infrastructure. As part of real-time network
monitoring, load reduction may be implemented as precautionary measure outside
of stipulated time should the need arise to protect the asset in line with
electricity regulations and PFMA. “We discourage all illegal connections and activities
as they result in overloading and prolonged outages. The safety of the public
remains a concern coupled with the community resistance for us to remove the
illegal connections,” concluded Ramashi.
Ends.