A power emergency was declared for a second consecutive day on Thursday, Eskom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEskom declared an emergency at about 4pm,\u201d spokesman Andrew Etzinger said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is because of significantly higher electricity demand associated with the cold weather which has moved into the Gauteng province.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said there was a high risk of deliberate power cuts.<\/p>\n
Earlier, the power utility said the capacity available to meet Thursday evening\u2019s peak demand was 34,265 MW (including open cycle gas turbines), while demand was forecast at 35,080 MW.<\/p>\n
Current planned maintenance stood at 3660 MW.<\/p>\n
In order to avoid deliberate power cuts, Eskom asked electricity users to switch off non-essential appliances between 5pm and 9pm.<\/p>\n
It asked commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, to switch off non-essential lights.<\/p>\n
The parastatal said if the cuts became necessary it would use the published schedules available on its website.<\/p>\n
The power utility declared a power emergency on Wednesday night.<\/p>\n
Weather to test Eskom\u2019s resolve<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Power exceptionally tight: Eskom<\/span><\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n