Power cuts possible, warns Eskom

Johannesburg - Eskom warned of possible deliberate power cuts on Thursday to relieve pressure on the national electricity grid.

"Eskom will utilise all necessary emergency resources at its disposal, but should the demand not decrease, load shedding will be implemented as a last resort to protect the national grid from a total shutdown," it said.

The parastatal said it needed voluntary power savings of least 10% to manage the electricity demand.

The power system was constrained due to the unavailability of some generating units and because electricity usage was higher in the winter months.

Appliances

"We are on track in terms of our planned maintenance schedule and have begun scaling it down to prepare for winter while also managing unplanned outages that add more pressure to an already tight system."

Electricity users were urged to use electricity sparingly and to switch off all non-essential appliances.

"Eskom is taking all necessary steps available to keep the lights on but we require partnership with our customers to ensure that we reduce electricity usage," the parastatal said.

In the event of power cuts, known as "load shedding", schedules would be made available to electricity users through the Eskom website, municipalities, media platforms, and the customer call centre.