Power supply on Friday and the weekend was expected to be constrained, Eskom said on Thursday.<\/p>\n
“We are concerned about tomorrow [Friday] and into the weekend… we must warn of a possible shortfall, but we will provide updates to the public,” spokesman Andrew Etzinger said.<\/p>\n
Although the system was under strain, no load shedding was planned for Thursday, he said.<\/p>\n
Areas currently experiencing power cuts would be due to faults at a local level and not due to Eskom’s generating capacity.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the group said that high ash emissions from the Lethabo power station in the Vaal Triangle due to conveyer belt failure was not caused by a lack of maintenance.<\/p>\n
“It is an operational matter rather than a lack of maintenance,” spokesman Andrew Etzinger said.<\/p>\n
“The power station is an old power station so the infrastructure does need a lot of maintenance.”<\/p>\n
The Times reported earlier on Thursday that the power station, which contributes about 10 percent of the national power grid’s energy, was “buried beneath tons of ash”.<\/p>\n
A Lethabo insider told the newspaper: “It is a disaster. The plant is falling apart. Months ago they were told it is dire. Warnings were ignored.”<\/p>\n
The source said two power generating units had tripped on Saturday because ash from the hoppers could not be emptied quickly enough.<\/p>\n
The daily reported that a cloud of ash was blowing over surrounding areas, resulting in an increase in people reporting respiratory problems.<\/p>\n
Etzinger admitted that the level of ash emissions from the power station was higher than normal.<\/p>\n
“We do apologise to residents and businesses in the area who would be affected. We are working to address the problem as soon as possible.”<\/p>\n
Eskom was switching off operations at Lethabo during non-peak times to limit ash emissions and comply with legislation.<\/p>\n
“We’re trying to balance the system, with the pressure on the grid on the one hand, and limit emissions on the other hand,” he said.<\/p>\n
Half a million rand for every Eskom employee<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Freeze Eskom\u2019s \u2018disgusting\u2019 executive pay: DA<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n