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Update on the tropical storm Eloise: No major disruptions to operations experienced

Monday, 25 January 2021: Eskom wishes to inform the public that the tropical storm Eloise has at this point not had any major negative impact on operations. With the heavy rains continuing across Mpumalanga, Limpopo and parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Eskom continues to monitor the storm and its impact on operations.

On Sunday night the storm passed through the transmission lines from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique without any incident. The high risk sections of the transmission lines were reinforced after similar storms in previous years. The risk, however, remains with the possible flooding of rivers and uprooting of trees in the areas surrounding the transmission lines.

Operations at the power stations continue as normal, although Eskom teams will continue to monitor the progress of the storm and impact of the heavy rains. Typically, heavy rainfall for four or less days does not pose a significant threat to power station operations, but continuous heavy rainfall for more than four days does hamper coal handling at the power stations and the mines supplying them.

Should there be any significant impact, Eskom will communicate timeously.      

Power lines in some parts of the Mpumalanga, Limpopo and northern KwaZulu-Natal provinces did experience localised outages as a result of trees and poles falling on power lines districts.

Consumers in these communities are requested to be patient as our teams are working as fast as they can within the safety parameters during the storms to restore electricity.

Customers are requested to treat all electricity infrastructure as live and to report any fallen lines or pylons, to be cautious of exposed cables, overhead power cables that may be damaged, collapsed or low-hanging as a result of the stormy weather conditions, vandalism and illegal connections. Any damage can be reported on 086 003 7566.

Eskom also urges public to use electricity sparingly during the storm as to avoid unnecessary pressure on the system.

ENDS

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