By Mpumzi Mshweshwe
The power systems of Eskom have remained stable, this being the reason why there has been no planned loadshedding across the country. The unplanned outages have decreased by 2.9% from the last year showing improvement in the management and maintenance of the Eskom systems.
Eskom stated that “the high level of planned maintenance aims to enhance fleet reliability for the anticipated increased peak winter demand while also ensuring compliance with environmental and regulatory requirements. “Currently, 7,402MW of the generation capacity is under planned maintenance.”
Last year, the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), which is unplanned outage, stood at 31.35% and this year it stands at 28.50%, a positive decrease of 2.85%. Another positive decrease reported by Eskom is how they have spent R3.6 billion on diesel from 12 March to 10 April, which is a decrease of 2.5% from the previous 30-day cycle. The key performances of Eskom recently include a decrease of unplanned outages by 2044MW for last week (the 6th) as reported on Friday the 10th.
Eskom has urged the public to help prevent transformer overloads and related equipment failures. These overloads can result in explosions and prolonged outages. Eskom has stressed the negative impact that illegal connections have on its systems and has pleaded with people to buy electricity only from “Eskom-accredited vendors”.
The next update that Eskom will provide on its operations and load-shedding status is scheduled to be on 18th of Friday. – @NewsSA_Online