Cape Town - Eskom announced in a notice on Tuesday that it is now on Stage 1 of load shedding, after warning earlier on Tuesday of extremely tight power supply.
"We are currently load shedding in Stage 1 in some areas due to high demand or urgent maintenance being performed at certain power stations," it stated on its website.
Stage 1 of load shedding means that there is a demand to save up to 1 000 MW of electricity to prevent the national grid from total collapse.
The different stages dictate the amount of electricity to be shed. It is as follows:
Stage 1 - up to 1 000 MW of electricity must be shed.
Stage 2 - up to 2 000 MW of electricity must be shed; and
Stage 3 - up to 4 000 MW of electricity must be shed.
"Stage 1 requires the smallest amount of load shedding, and results in areas being shed for a period of time that will differ depending on the Metro or Municipality that supplies the area's electricity," according to Eskom's website.
During stage 1 load shedding in areas means:
Once for two hours in a two day period,
Once for four hours every fourth day in Eskom-supplied Johannesburg areas.
On Tuesday, Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger told Sapa that the utility is expecting the grid to be exceptionally tight with a chance of needing to reduce demand over the evening peak.
"A similar situation for Wednesday and Thursday evening as well is expected, and that is due to expected high demand related to the weather."
"We are currently load shedding in Stage 1 in some areas due to high demand or urgent maintenance being performed at certain power stations," it stated on its website.
Stage 1 of load shedding means that there is a demand to save up to 1 000 MW of electricity to prevent the national grid from total collapse.
The different stages dictate the amount of electricity to be shed. It is as follows:
Stage 1 - up to 1 000 MW of electricity must be shed.
Stage 2 - up to 2 000 MW of electricity must be shed; and
Stage 3 - up to 4 000 MW of electricity must be shed.
"Stage 1 requires the smallest amount of load shedding, and results in areas being shed for a period of time that will differ depending on the Metro or Municipality that supplies the area's electricity," according to Eskom's website.
During stage 1 load shedding in areas means:
Once for two hours in a two day period,
Once for four hours every fourth day in Eskom-supplied Johannesburg areas.
On Tuesday, Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger told Sapa that the utility is expecting the grid to be exceptionally tight with a chance of needing to reduce demand over the evening peak.
"A similar situation for Wednesday and Thursday evening as well is expected, and that is due to expected high demand related to the weather."