Gauteng consumers urged to use electricity sparingly

State power utility Eskom has urged Gauteng residents to use electricity efficiently as a cold front moves into the province.

This after the South African Weather Service (SAWS) warned of a “dramatic drop in temperature” with daytime temperatures expected to barely reach 20°C in parts of the province.

“Gauteng is experiencing severe cold weather conditions. Customers are urged to use electricity wisely. Use alternative methods to keep warm, such as wearing more layers of clothing, using a throw or a hot water bottle instead of a heater,” the power utility said.

Meanwhile, Eskom has announced that load shedding has been ramped up due to breakdowns at eight generating units on Tuesday evening.

“The breakdowns … have put a severe strain on the power generation system. The delay in returning to service a generating unit each at Kendal, Kriel, Matla [power stations] and two generating units at Tutuka power station is contributing to the current capacity constraints. Eskom teams are working tirelessly to return these generating units to service,” the power utility said.

From 5am today (Thursday), Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented with Stage 4 kicking in from 4pm, lasting until 5am on Friday morning.

Load shedding will then drop to Stage 2 until 4pm and will be tailed by Stage 4 also until 5am. This pattern will repeat until further notice.

Breakdowns at power stations have rendered some 19 127MW of generation capacity offline, coupled with a further 2 313MW out of service due to maintenance.

“Demand of electricity is expected to increase towards the weekend. Therefore, we appeal to the members of the public to assist in reducing demand by switching off non-essential appliances.

“We would like to thank those who do heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers and pool pumps from 5pm to 9pm as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of load shedding,” Eskom said.