Thousands more people need to switch off appliances during peak demand periods to help ease the national electricity load this winter, Eskom said on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
“This winter will be different,” the power utility’s Free State general manager Lindi Mthombeni told reporters in Bloemfontein.<\/p>\n
She said South Africa’s ageing power stations needed more maintenance, meaning units would be shut down during the coming winter.<\/p>\n
“This will put pressure on an already tight system and we must deal with peak demands, specifically try and deal with the afternoon,” Mthombeni said.<\/p>\n
Eskom alone could not deal with the peak demand, which was between 5pm and 9pm daily, and needed the help of its “stakeholders”.<\/p>\n
The utility’s integrated demand management (IDM) energy saving initiative was intended to encourage another three million customers to switch off during daily peak times.<\/p>\n
IDM spokesman Pannetjie Rossouw said South Africans had to work together to save this additional amount of electricity.<\/p>\n
Mthombeni said citizens needed to appreciate Eskom’s position.<\/p>\n
“Even if the new power stations come on line, it is good practice to conserve energy.”<\/p>\n
She said the “power alerts” system on national television and radio, which were used to indicate what the country’s electricity demand was, would stay and become a way of life for South Africans.<\/p>\n
“There is progress, but its not enough. We must increase it with the help of all citizens,” said Mthombeni.<\/p>\n
Although the alert system was working well, people had to react more rapidly, specifically when the alert status was orange.<\/p>\n
“We appeal to all South Africans to respond to the colours [alerts] immediately.”<\/p>\n
Mthombeni said Eskom had various initiatives to try and improve an already tight demand and supply situation this winter.<\/p>\n
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