Joburg geysers to be switched off

Johannesburg - Johannesburg City Power will remotely switch off geysers to alleviate strain on the power grid, a spokesperson said on Monday.

"In our effort to reduce the impact of load shedding on the city of Johannesburg, City Power will remotely switch off the geyser control systems to certain areas at specific times to manage the electricity load across the city," spokesperson Sol Masolo said in a statement.

He appealed to large power users and business to switch off non-essential machinery, air conditioners and lights.

Masolo said power utility Eskom had asked the City of Johannesburg and municipalities countrywide to reduce demand by cutting power to their customers for half a day.

Eskom spokesperson Andrew Etzinger said they had once again implemented rolling blackouts on Monday until three of their generators could be fixed.

READ: More power cuts as Eskom fixes generators

"We have started with stage one of load shedding. Three large generators at our power stations are out of service," said Etzinger.

Eskom however said there would be no power cuts during the week.

Many areas in the country were without power for parts of the weekend as the power utility and its municipal customers implemented scheduled blackouts to build up power reserves for the week.

Etzinger said the cuts would last for most of Monday, but as soon as the generators were back on line "things should be better".

Rosebank in Johannesburg had power cuts on Monday morning. Masolo said power in the area would be restored by 10:30.

"The load shedding is expected to be over by at least 13:00 this afternoon."

The power cut schedule for Johannesburg residents is available on www.citypower.co.za.