Eskom asks for collective effort from South Africans to keep electricity usage low

Electricity utility Eskom confirmed on Sunday that no load-shedding was expected for the day, in a continuation of the drop in demand from the start of the holiday period in mid-December.

“Eskom will continue to use emergency reserves to supplement capacity if necessary over this period. We however remind customers that as the system continues to be vulnerable and unpredictable, the possibility of load-shedding remains,” it said in a statement.

“Breakdowns (UCLF) are at 14,574MW as at 6.30 this morning. Our technical teams will continue to work over the holiday period to monitor the situation, carry out planned maintenance and to work at reducing unplanned breakdowns to below 9,500MW to enable us to minimise the possibility of load-shedding.

“We continue to ask customers to reduce demand as a concerted collective effort can help to avoid or lessen the level of load-shedding.”

Eskom has offered tips to consumers on how to reduce their electricity usage, ranging from switching off appliances when not in use at plug points – including those on standby mode – and minimising use of air conditioning systems.