Eskom says its power system is and will remain tight

Johannesburg, South Africa — ESI-AFRICA.COM — 11 November 2011 – South African national power utility Eskom Holdings admits that its power system is tight, and says it will continue to be so for at least the next two years.

Reporting this situation, I-Net Bridge quotes Eskom as saying: “For this week, and the weeks that follow, it will be a challenge to balance supply and demand due to a number of factors. We have entered our maintenance season,” it adds.

“Unit 2 of our Koeberg nuclear plant will be out of service for a few weeks for repairs to the generator,” the parastatal said in a statement. The current hot weather conditions have also had an impact on supply, impairing the efficiency of some of Eskom’s dry-cooled power stations, and have caused increased demand as customers have increased their use of air-conditioning.

Eskom has urged all consumers to use electricity sparingly to reduce demand.