On Friday, June 15, South Africa experienced its second consecutive day of load shedding, with power outages likely to continue over the weekend.
Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said that stage 1 load shedding started at 11:30 and would continue until 21:00 due to “multiple trips of its power generation units”.
In a statement Eskom says it has mobilised responders across the company and is working with other national structures and stakeholders to keep its plant operating in the context of current industrial action.
Stage 1 load shedding means that 1 000 MW of electricity needs to be shed in order to prevent the national grid from becoming severely damaged. As a last resort, Eskom will implement its power system contingencies, including controlled load shedding, to avoid a blackout/shutdown of the national power system.
“Eskom calls on all consumers to assist by reducing their electricity consumption by switching off geysers, electric heating, pool pumps, and all non-essential appliances throughout the day,” the statement read.
The utility says the outages are the result of protests by its workers over pay and has thus far obtained a court interdict to prevent workers striking and disrupting both power and coal supplies.
In a tweet Phasiwe confirmed the wage dispute had been referred to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration.
#PowerUpdate: Eskom has obtained a court interdict which essentially prohibits:
– the intimidation of workers and contractors who are not part of the illegal industrial action;
– the highjacking of coal trucks; and
– the sabotaging of Eskom’s electricity infrastructure. pic.twitter.com/wM2gERnz8P— Khulu Phasiwe (@KhuluPhasiwe) June 15, 2018
Areas that are expected to be affected in Johannesburg are:
Aeroton
Alan Manor
Amalgam
Bassonia
Brixton
Crown
Fleurhof
Garden City Clinic
Glenvista
Homestead Park
Liefde and Vrede
Mayfair
Mayfair West
Micor Industrial
Mondeor
Mulbarton
New Canada
Noordgesig
Pageview
Pennyville
Ridgeway
Southgate
Suideroord
The Glen
Eskom added that it will provide regular updates on the status of the power system through all media platforms.
By Neo Sesinye
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