Households in four provinces in the dark as Eskom imposes 'load reduction'

25 September 2020 - 08:19 By naledi shange
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Eskom has implemented load reduction in parts of the country.
Eskom has implemented load reduction in parts of the country.
Image: 123rf.com

Thousands of households woke up to no power on Friday as Eskom enforced “load reduction” to ease the pressure on the electricity grid.

Eskom switched off power in parts of Gauteng, Limpopo, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. And residents were warned to switch off appliances to avoid damage caused by power surges when the supply was restored.

“Eskom wishes to notify its customers that it will implement load reduction to prevent network overloading in high-density areas. Overloading of networks leads to damage to the electricity infrastructure through explosions in overloaded transformers and mini-substations,” the power utility said in a statement.

“It also poses a danger to people and property in the affected communities. Eskom is battling to keep up with the increased equipment failure that is costing millions to repair,” the power utility said.

In KwaZulu-Natal load reduction was implemented in the Msunduzi, uMshwathi, Maphumulo, Umvoti, Hlabisa, Mfolozi, Mtubatuba, Ntambanana, uMhlatuze, Emnambithi, Ladysmith and eThekwini areas.

Load reduction in these areas was implemented between 7am and 9am.

In the Free State, the Refengkgotso area was affected with load reduction from 6am to  9am.

In Gauteng, the Tshwane district was affected with some of its areas being powerless between 5am and 9am. In Limpopo, parts of the Mopani and Capricorn districts were put on load reduction during this time. 

“Customers from affected areas are encouraged not to log a fault during this period,” Eskom said.

Eskom warned on the impact of power surges.

“Failure to do so (switch off electrical appliances) may lead to transformer trips or failures, and damages to household appliances when supply is restored,” the power utility said.

TimesLIVE


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