By Kaya 959 Reporter
Load shedding is expected to continue on Monday and Tuesday. Eskom says it has made some progress in replenishing the emergency generation reserves.
“However, due to the loss of Koeberg Unit 1 on Sunday, we anticipate the need to utilise emergency reserves extensively during the next few days to avoid load shedding. In order to achieve this, Stage 2 load shedding will be required during Monday and Tuesday nights in order to replenish the emergency reserves for the following day,” says Eskom.
Officials say the Koeberg Unit 1 tripped on Sunday morning as a result of a fault on a feedwater pump, which is on the secondary plant.
“The plant was shut down in accordance with standard plant operating procedures and all parameters are stable,” Eskom says.
The power utility says there are no nuclear safety concerns on the reactor side of the plant, which is ready to be restarted once the feedwater pump fault has been resolved.
It says the investigation into the feedwater pump fault is in progress. Once concluded, Eskom says it will be able to confirm the return to service date of the unit. Officials expect this to be during next week.
“Eskom teams have returned to service a unit each at Tutuka and Hendrina power stations, while two Kusile units have also returned to service. Unfortunately, we have taken off a unit each at Hendrina and Kriel power stations, in addition to the Koeberg unit,” says Eskom.
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Total breakdowns currently amount to 15 813MW while planned maintenance is 4 967MW of capacity.
Eskom officials have apologised for the inconvenience.
“[Eskom] requests the public to reduce the usage of electricity in order to help us through the constraints.”
Personal Lines Underwriting Manager Marius Steyn offers the following tips to mitigate damages caused by load shedding:
- Ensure that your alarm system is in good working condition and the backup battery is fully functional.
- Keep a torch in your car, if you arrive home at night during a power outage.
- Save emergency contact information on your phone but also keep a paper copy safe and accessible.
- Ensure your cellphone, laptop, and tablet devices are fully charged ahead of scheduled blackouts.
- Get a small LP gas bottle and lamp. It gives good quality lighting for a large area and can also be used for cooking and boiling water.
- Keep bottled water. Keeping emergency water stored is easy when frozen. This frozen bottled water will help keep food cold during a power outage and will also not spoil.
- Unplug any electronic devices or equipment or switch it off at the wall, including telephone cables.
- Installing a surge protection device can help minimise some damage in unforeseen situations.
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