Eskom on Thursday urged the public to reduce electricity usage following a series of breakdowns at its generating units.

The power utility said severe pressure on the power system had led to an increased use of its emergency generation reserves.

The power utility said although it is currently not anticipating the implementation of load shedding, the situation could change at short notice.

The country has not experienced load shedding since 22 July this year.

“Total breakdowns amount to 14 925MW while planned maintenance is 4 759MW of capacity. Should there be any further breakdowns; Eskom might be forced to implement load shedding at short notice.

“While Eskom expects a number of generating units to return to service from breakdowns during the course of the next few days, we urge the public to reduce the usage and to continue using electricity sparingly to assist in avoiding load shedding,” said the power utility in a statement.

Source: South African Government News Agency