ESKOM|SYSTEM STATUS BULLETIN No. 296 Thursday, 13 November 2014: Today Eskom releases its 296th update on the state of the power system. Eskom’s system status bulletin is released twice a week in line with its commitment to regular and transparent communication on the power system, which is expected to be constrained for the foreseeable future. The system is expected to be extremely constrained over the evening peak tonight, and for the rest of the week going into the weekend. This is due to the cold, wet weather conditions and the loss of additional units as a result of technical faults. Many parts of the country have been experiencing wet and cold weather conditions which tend to increase demand in electricity as consumers use more lighting and space heating. At the Majuba power station, generating capacity has reduced to about 1 200MW as the station is faced with wet coal challenges given that some of the coal handling is taking place out in the open. As mentioned in a previous statement, Eskom has implemented a wet coal management strategy to ensure that the wet coal risk is reduced at other power stations. It is however not possible to neutralise this risk completely, especially over periods of prolonged high rainfall. That said, dry weather is forecast for today and tomorrow which will give affected stations some time to recover. Similar to last week, the dam levels at our peaking power stations which use water to generate electricity are depleting. The probability of load shedding tomorrow is low at this stage. Eskom appeals to consumers to reduce their electricity usage throughout the day, but especially from 18h00 to 22h00. Please switch off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances to prevent the need for rotational load shedding. Should we need to go into load shedding, customers will be alerted as early as possible. While we will make every effort to avoid load shedding, we are hopeful that by applying these measures, coupled with support from all electricity consumers, we will achieve the required load reduction necessary to protect the national grid. Eskom’s load shedding schedules are available for Eskom direct customers on our website (loadshedding.eskom.co.za /). Customers can also contact our Call Centre on 0860 037 566 for additional information. Load shedding schedules will only be utilised for the duration of the constraint and Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system. Eskom calls on all South Africans to pull together over the next few months and use electricity sparingly by “Living Lightly” this summer. Less is more this summer and homeowners and businesses can do so with just four steps: first, switching off geysers and pool pumps; second, switching off non-essential lights; third, efficient use of air-conditioners by keeping the room temperature at 23⁰C; and finally, responding to the alerts on TV each evening. Trends in the supply and demand of power in South Africa are as follows: Today (Thursday 13 November): The capacity available to meet this evening’s peak demand is 31 061 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 31 004 MW. Current planned maintenance stands at 3 891 MW. Unplanned outages are 8 527 MW. The capacity available from Friday, through to Sunday, is expected to meet forecast demand as follows (please note that these are estimates and will likely differ from the actual figures): Tomorrow (Friday 14 November): The capacity available to meet tomorrow’s evening peak demand is 31 616 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 29 860 MW. Saturday (15 November): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 31 416 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 29 202 MW. Sunday (16 November): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 31 801 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 29 559 MW. We expect demand in electricity to be in line with expectations for this time of the year. We urge customers to reduce their electricity usage throughout the day to help ease pressure on the system. Peak demand and available capacity for the rest of this week is forecast at (please note that these are estimates and will likely differ from the actual figures): Monday (17 November): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 31 801 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 31 368 MW. Tuesday (18 November): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 32 206 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 31 224 MW. Wednesday (19 November): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 32 263 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast at 31 180 MW. Yesterday (Wednesday 12 November): Peak demand of 31 356 MW met by available capacity of 31 847 MW. Tuesday (11 November): Peak demand of 31 927 MW met by available capacity of 32 046 MW. Monday (10 November): Peak demand of 31 469 MW met by available capacity of 31 785 MW. Sunday (9 November): Peak demand of 29 329 MW met by available capacity of 31 553 MW. Eskom continues to make progress with its programme of planned maintenance but the system remains tight. We urge all South Africans to partner with us to save 10% of their electricity usage throughout the day. This will make it significantly easier to manage the power system during this challenging time, while also enabling us to do planned maintenance to ensure the reliability of our plant. For tips on how to trim 10% off your consumption, visit eskomidm.co.za/residential ENDS
Posted on: Thu, 13 Nov 2014 15:33:56 +0000