Eskom on Tuesday said that its generation infrastructure was old, unreliable and volatile, particularly during cold periods.
This as Gauteng is in the grips of a cold front.
The power utility said that it had no other option but to implement stage two loadshedding on Tuesday from 4pm until 10pm. Stage 2 load shedding will also be implemented on Wednesday from 9am until 10pm.
Eskom warned that the constrained system was likely to last until the end of the week.
The cold front means that South Africans are using more electricity to keep warm in their homes.
Eskom’s spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said that the generation issues had put pressure on the system.
“As the aged generation infrastructure is unreliable and volatile, this constrained power system is expected to persist for the rest of the week, particularly as the cold front hits.
“Unplanned breakdowns stand at more than 11,900 MW of capacity, adding to the 4,350MW currently out on planned maintenance.,” Mantshantsha said in a statement.
Eskom said that to reduce the possibility of loadshedding, all non-essential appliances should be switched off.
With the cold front expected to last until Thursday, Joburg’s Emergency Management Services (EMS) said that they were on high alert.
“From our side as Emergency Management Services, we will remain on high alert monitoring all our vulnerable communities when we have cold weather conditions like this one, mostly our informal settlements,” said Joburg EMS spokesperson Robert Mulaudzi.
The South African Weather Service on Tuesday had forecast a cool day in Gauteng, while temperatures are expected to drop below zero degrees from Wednesday.
“The wind is going to start picking up a little bit and then going into tomorrow morning we can expect a drop in minimum temperatures. The southern parts of Gauteng are going to be about minus two degrees, and the northern parts are going to be zero degrees,” said forecaster Celeste Fourie.
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