Eskom has urged caution over recent statements that suggested there would be no power blackouts during the winter months.

An Eskom spokesperson said that promising a season without load shedding would be "bold".

A recent statement from Eskom chairman Valli Moosa revealed that he was confident there would be no need for load shedding this winter.

"I'm confident the entire winter will go without any load shedding (power cuts) whatsoever," he explained.

But Khulu Phasiwe, a spokesperson from the electricity firm, said it was more likely that the power cuts would stop if Eskom was able to act and the public saved energy.

Jacob Maroga, Chief Executive Officer of Eskom, said the company was not "out of the woods" as it only held a six per cent power reserve.

Meanwhile, Eskom has also announced that it has shut down one of its two electricity generating units at its Koeberg nuclear power station.

A technical fault will not affect the facility in the long term but the shutdown will only increase the vulnerability of the system.

Platinum mines were forced to close during January when load shedding meant they could not run operations.

Production was impacted as a result of the five day closure and most mines are now operating on about 90 per cent or 95 per cent power.



Source:

Reuters