Eskom to implement load shedding from 08:00 tomorrow morning

Saturday, 01 November 2014: The power system is projected to be severely constrained tomorrow (02 Sunday, November 2014) and the rest of the week due to the loss of 1 800 MW at the Majuba power station, a situation caused by damage to the central coal storage silo this afternoon.

As a result, Eskom will start implementing stage 1 of rotational load shedding tomorrow (Sunday, 02 November) from 08:00 until 22:00 according to the published load shedding schedules available here for Eskom customers.

A silo, which houses over 10 000 tons of coal, cracked this afternoon impacting coal supplies to all six units at the power station resulting in the power station operating at reduced capacity of 1 300MW.

No injuries were reported.

Teams are on site and are in the process of dispatching mobile coal feeders to site. In the unlikely event that this contingency is unsuccessful, it may impact the full supply from the   power station.

Eskom engineers are investigating the cause of the incident and more details will be released in due course

Customers are urged to switch off pool pumps, turn air-conditioning to 23⁰C and to switch off geysers and unnecessary lights to limit the impact of the load shedding. Eskom customers can contact our customer call centre on 0860 037 566. Municipal customers need to contact their own municipalities for their schedules.

Customers are cautioned to treat all electrical connections as live during this period.

Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system through all media platforms.

NOTES FOR EDITORS

A media briefing is planned for Monday. Time and venue to be confirmed

On a Sunday stage one load shedding is estimated between 600 to 800 MW. (This is based on the load for the day)

A coal storage silo is similar to a maize silo in size

Statement issued by Eskom, November 1 2014

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