Eskom implementing stage 1 of load shedding
Tuesday, 27 January 2015: Eskom will implement stage 1 load shedding at 10:30 this morning due to a shortage of generation capacity. This will continue until 22:00.
Acting Chief Executive of Eskom Dan Marokane says, "As previously indicated during our quarterly state of the system briefing on 15 January, the grid will be under pressure for the current week resulting in a high risk of load shedding."
Eskom calls on consumers to urgently switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day to reduce electricity demand. As workers leave office buildings this evening we ask that they please switch off the lights, with the exception of security lighting and avoid leaving on air-conditioning overnight.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make the biggest difference by switching off non-essential lights and not to leave office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours.
Eskom customers are advised to check load shedding schedules, which are available on the Eskom website (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.
Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system throughout the day.
UPDATE
Eskom moves to stage 2 load shedding
Tuesday, 27 January 2015: Eskom has moved from stage 1 to stage 2 load shedding as of 11:30 today and this will continue until 22:00. This is due to a shortage of generation capacity.
"We moved to stage 2 in order to manage our reserves at our pumped storage schemes and gas turbines so that we can better manage the rest of the week," Acting Chief Executive Dan Marokane said.
At our pumped storage schemes (which use water to generate electricity), the dam levels are low because we were not able to pump the water back to full capacity over the weekend. This is a result of us having to use our pumped storage schemes over the weekend to meet demand. Ordinarily, the weekends are used to pump our dam levels to maximum capacity in preparation for the forecasted increased demand in electricity during the week.
The power grid is extremely constrained and will remain so for the rest of the summer. Eskom calls on consumers to switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day to reduce electricity demand.
We also request workers to switch off the lights, with the exception of security lighting when they leave office buildings this evening and to ensure that air-conditioners are switched off over night.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make the biggest difference by switching off non-essential lights and not to leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours.
Eskom customers are advised to check load shedding schedules, which are available on the Eskom website (http://loadshedding.eskom.co.
Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system throughout the day.
Statements issued by Eskom, January 27 2015
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