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South Africa

Electricity demand has dropped: Eskom

───   08:43 Mon, 30 Mar 2020

Electricity demand has dropped: Eskom | News Article

Electricity demand in South Africa has dropped, Eskom said on Sunday, adding that it did not expect to implement load-shedding during the novel coronavirus (Covid-19) lockdown.


"Eskom does not expect to implement load-shedding during the Covid-19 national lockdown. Demand for electricity has dropped by more than 7,500MW since the start of the national lockdown. We anticipate further demand reduction for the duration of the lockdown," Eskom said.

"In order to protect the integrity of the system, Eskom has started taking some generation units off the grid. These units are available to return to service at short notice should the need arise."

On Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa announced a nationwide 21-day lockdown from midnight on Thursday until midnight on April 16. In an address broadcast live on television, Ramaphosa said all people in South Africa would be compelled to stay at home, save for essential services such as health workers in the public and private sectors, emergency personnel and those in security services such as the police, traffic officers, military medical personnel and soldiers.

Eskom on Sunday said it had to postpone the philosophy maintenance for the duration of the lockdown to keep the number of workers on site at a minimum. 

"We have instead shifted the focus to carrying out short-term maintenance and other repairs in order to optimise the generation units to meet the rising demand after the lockdown," Eskom said.

"Eskom advises that as an essential and critical services supplier, some of its personnel are exempt from the provisions of the lockdown. As such, we do not expect any impediments to the generation and supply of electricity during this period. Our suppliers, particularly the coal mines, logistics suppliers and those supplying the parts and maintenance services at our power stations, are able to operate during the lockdown."

As of Saturday night, South Africa's confirmed Covid-19 was at 1187, with one confirmed death, Health Minister Zweli Mkhize said.


African News Agency

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