Thursday, 14 January 2021: Eskom would like to inform the public that Stage 2
loadshedding will be implemented starting at 12:00 this afternoon through to
Sunday night. The loadshedding is necessary due to loss of generation capacity
overnight. Loadshedding is also required to manage the use of the emergency
reserves, which will help us contain the stage of loadshedding required. The
system remains vulnerable and unpredictable, should any further breakdowns
occur, the stage of loadshedding may change at short notice.
Two
generation units at the Kusile Power Station tripped due to the failure of the
main coal feed conveyor belts supplying coal to the units. In addition, a unit
each at the Kriel and Duvha tripped due to unforeseen breakdowns. We presently
have four generation units whose return to service from planned maintenance has
been delayed.
We currently have 5 358MW on planned
maintenance, while another 14 748MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned
maintenance, breakdowns and the outage delays mentioned above. Eskom personnel
are working tirelessly to return as much of this capacity to service as soon as
possible.
Eskom
would like to urge the public to reduce electricity consumption in order to
help us minimize loadshedding.
Eskom
will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power
system.
ENDS