Load shedding risk is high: Eskom

Eskom has warned that the risk of load shedding has increased following two generators failing, and an influx of people returning from holiday putting more pressure on the grid.
It tweeted the warning on Wednesday (7 January), calling for help in reducing demand.
The Power Alert website indicated that electricity usage was stable, though the power level is sitting in red status.
The power utility said on Monday that the risk of rolling blackouts would be “low to medium” this week, however, Tuesday saw the national grid under severe strain – dipping into red-alert status.
“Two generators failed and this is part of a number of other challenges within the systems which have exacerbated the situation,” spokesman Khulu Phasiwe said.
“We are not saying there will be load-shedding but the risk is high between now [noon] and 10pm. If we all work together and use electricity sparingly, we can avoid load-shedding.”
Engineers were trying to determine why the generators broke down and how long it would take to fix them.
At a media briefing in December 2014, the group said that the power system will be severely constrained for the next two years, “at least until two units from Medupi and 1 unit from Kusile are running”.
Unit six of the Medupi power station was supposed to go online by the end of December 2014, but that deadline was missed and a new turn-on date has been set for one unit of the station in mid-2015.
Eskom forecast its power predictions to March 2015, with February looking to be the most strained month for the national grid.
The load-shedding schedule for your area can be found via the following websites:
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