The power system is expected to be tight owing to cold and cloudy weather conditions over the evening peak periods for the next few days.
This according to power utility Eskom that says this is because of weather conditions forecast for the next few days and the loss of additional units at its power stations through technical faults.
In its system status bulletin the power utility said generating capacity at the Majuba power station is at around 1600MW. This as the power station is faced with wet coal challenges given that some of the coal handling is taking place out in the open.
However, Eskom has implemented a wet coal management strategy to ensure that the wet coal risk is reduced at other power stations. “It is however not possible to neutralise this risk completely, especially over periods of prolonged high rainfall,” it said.
Recently the country was plunged into darkness after one of the silos at the power station located in Mpumalanga cracked and later collapsed. This left South Africans without electricity.
The power utility called on South Africans to save electricity.
“Less is more this summer and homeowners and businesses can do so with just four steps: first, switching off geysers and pool pumps; second, switching off non-essential lights; third, efficient use of air-conditioners by keeping the room temperature at 23⁰C; and finally, responding to the alerts on TV each evening.”
(edited)
Source: SAnews.gov.za
St Francis Chronicle 