LISTEN | Brace yourselves: Eskom warns of power cuts
Utility warns the lights could go out as early as 5pm
Eskom on Monday warned South Africans who are battling freezing winter conditions to brace themselves for potential load-shedding.
In a statement, Eskom cautioned the public that because of a continued shortage of generation capacity, “the power system is very constrained for this evening and for the next few weeks.
“There are a number of generating units expected to return to service during the day today, but the likelihood of load-shedding is high and may be required at short notice, most likely during the evening peaks between 5pm and 10pm.”
The statement said Eskom had 5,232MW on planned maintenance, while another 14,623MW was unavailable because of breakdowns.
“Eskom cautions that as the shortage of generation capacity persists, the system will continue to be constrained with an elevated risk of load-shedding over the coming weeks.”