Govt dismisses Eskom 'crash' hoax

Johannesburg - Government on Tuesday dismissed a hoax statement saying it had been warned by Eskom the main power grid could crash, plunging the country into darkness for over two weeks, the department of communication said.

"The message regarding Eskom is not true and is meant to create unnecessary panic. Load shedding is a controlled and planned method to ensure that the power system is protected from a total blackout," said acting director-general Donald Liphoko in a statement.

"South Africans are assured that the country's energy challenges are receiving priority at the highest level to resolve the situation."

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He said government was confident that measures it was introducing would prevent a complete blackout.

It was committed to finding a long-lasting solution to address the energy situation.

Eskom on Tuesday warned of a high risk that power cuts may be implemented.

Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said "the system is constrained and the risk of load shedding is high. We will update consumers at a later stage on when the load shedding might begin".

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