South Africa braces for more blackouts
By Nadia Samie
18 January 2006
Residents in certain parts of the country woke up in darkness and motorists had to contend with traffic lights down this morning, as the country braces itself for yet another period of inconveniencing and unannounced power cuts — set to last until the end of the week.
Residents countrywide are currently experiencing loadshedding after an automatic and controlled shutdown of Koeberg’s Unit One at 2-o-clock this morning, as a result of a turbine trip.
Eskom spokesperson Moses Mamba says that because of the shutdown, power demand has exceeded supply. He says that the demand is currently 3000 megawatts higher than expected for this period.
"Eskom is using all pre-arranged emergency options, however this will not be sufficient to address the shortfall of electricity for today and possibly for the coming week.
"In order to maintain the balance between demand and supply, mandatory load shedding will be implemented countrywide, as and when required," an Eskom statement reads.
Residents should brace themselves for yet another series of rolling blackouts, as the situation remains critical. People are urged to switch off non-essential items such as air-conditioning, pool-pumps and geysers.
18 January 2006
Residents in certain parts of the country woke up in darkness and motorists had to contend with traffic lights down this morning, as the country braces itself for yet another period of inconveniencing and unannounced power cuts — set to last until the end of the week.
Residents countrywide are currently experiencing loadshedding after an automatic and controlled shutdown of Koeberg’s Unit One at 2-o-clock this morning, as a result of a turbine trip.
Eskom spokesperson Moses Mamba says that because of the shutdown, power demand has exceeded supply. He says that the demand is currently 3000 megawatts higher than expected for this period.
"Eskom is using all pre-arranged emergency options, however this will not be sufficient to address the shortfall of electricity for today and possibly for the coming week.
"In order to maintain the balance between demand and supply, mandatory load shedding will be implemented countrywide, as and when required," an Eskom statement reads.
Residents should brace themselves for yet another series of rolling blackouts, as the situation remains critical. People are urged to switch off non-essential items such as air-conditioning, pool-pumps and geysers.
For more information:
- Customers can call the Eskom Contact Centre on 086 003 7566.
- Customers of the City of Cape Town should contact the City’s Call Centre regarding load shedding information on 0860 125 008.
- Fault reporting for City of
- City of Cape Town customers who are uncertain in which part of an area they reside in should contact the City of Cape Town on 0860 125 008.
- Information should also be available on the following websites www.eskom.co.za and www.capetown.gov.za.
Comments
Will this affect the building of the 2010 stadiums?
This country is a joke.