Cape Town - The probability of load shedding is low for the week but the system remains extremely constrained and vulnerable, power utility Eskom said on Tuesday.
It said any unexpected shift such as unplanned breakdowns due to the vulnerability of the system could result in load shedding at short notice.
“Yesterday (Monday), at approximately 1:30pm, we experienced a fault on the 400kV Gumeni transmission line connected to the Hendrina Power Station. This impacted electricity supply to Pullenshope, Hendrina town, and surrounding areas,” the statement said.
“Power was restored to affected customers yesterday (Monday) and the restoration of Hendrina Power Station is progressing well. The incident is under investigation.”
Eskom said its recovery teams continue to work tirelessly to return some of its generating units from planned and unplanned maintenance while “we are currently using some of our emergency reserves to minimise the probability of load shedding”.
Last week, the power utility announced that stage 2 load shedding would be implemented due to a shortage of capacity.
“We will continue to keep South Africans informed about the status of the electricity system and our recovery efforts. Eskom would like to thank customers for their patience and support in reducing demand by using electricity sparingly,” the utility said.