Eskom announced this morning that load reduction is starting this Winter.
Eskom’s Daphne Mokwena says while Eskom has suspended loadshedding for 104 consecutive days due to sufficient generation capacity, the issue of network overloading has resurfaced with the onset of winter.
About 94% of the total overloaded transformers are in 8 Provinces, including Limpopo, Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Gauteng, Mpumalanga, KwaZulu Natal, and the North West.
Mokwena said factors leading to load reduction are electricity theft and the overuse of electricity, despite continued public information campaigns to customers.
Monde Bala, Group Executive for Eskom Distribution, said “overloaded transformers as a result of electricity theft, present a serious risk to human life, we only implement load reduction as a very last resort for the shortest periods possible after all other options have been exhausted.”
“A transformer damaged by overloading can leave an area without power for up to six months, protecting Eskom’s assets is in the best interest of all South Africans,” he said.
Eskom also said there is a difference between load shedding and reduction.
Reduction is used when a transformer’s integrity is at risk due to overloading, whereas loadshedding is implemented when the national grid is constrained and there is insufficient capacity to generate electricity to meet demand.
Overloading of the transformers is recorded mainly during peak hours around 7:00 and 5:00 in the morning and 17:00 to 19:00 in the evening.