Eskom: ‘national grid remains constrained’ but no signs of load shedding yet

Update, Fri 1 Mar, 11am: Still no signs of load shedding from Eskom. Spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe on Friday morning noted that the “national grid remains constrained”.

Although the national grid remains constrained, and is expected to remain so until Sunday as maintenance works and emergency resources (diesel and water) are being replenished, there is currently no loadshedding. Loadshedding will only be implemented as a measure of last resort.

— Khulu Phasiwe (@KhuluPhasiwe) March 1, 2019

“No loadshedding at this stage,” he added in a subsequent tweet.

“Should there be a need to implement loadshedding, we certainly will inform you about which stage it will be. For now, please continue to use electricity efficiently so that we can reduce pressure on the grid, and minimise the risk of loadshedding.”

Update, Thu 28 Feb, 8.30pm: Eskom announced that load shedding would not be implemented on Thursday evening. However the “risk of load shedding for Friday and the weekend remains high,” it tweeted.

Load shedding was averted as “some generating units” were returned to service.

#POWERALERT 2
Date: Thursday, 28 February 2019

No loadshedding was implemented today, however the risk of loadshedding for tomorrow and the weekend remains high @CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @CityofCT @eThekwiniM pic.twitter.com/yM5kN4f6gx

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) February 28, 2019

“Our maintenance teams continue to work around the clock to bring units back online,” the utility added.

Original article: Charge those smartphones. Grab those gas stoves.

Eskom spokesperson on Thursday Khulu Phasiwe announced that there’s a “high risk” that the electricity utility will be implementing load shedding from 2pm on Thursday until the end of the weekend.

High risk of loadshedding today into the weekend pic.twitter.com/vvYwU5Qc8f

— Khulu Phasiwe (@KhuluPhasiwe) February 28, 2019

The enterprise blamed a “shortage of generation capacity” for the situation.

“While the risk remains high,” Eskom continued in a press release, “load shedding will only be implemented if absolutely necessary.”

Eskom suggests that if implemented, Stage 1 load shedding would be likely until 10pm today.

If you’re not entirely sure when to expect load shedding in your suburb, why not download an app? We take a look at three load shedding alert apps for Android.

Editor’s note: This story will be updated with new information as it is made available.

Feature image: Kelly Sikkema via Unsplash