WASHINGTON: Eskom has lost approximately 220MW of electricity imports from Mozambique because of a technical fault on one of the eight converters at Apollo substation in Midrand.
The loss of power imports has constrained the power system even further. Eskom said the incident heightened the risk of loadshedding.
However, Eskom said its programme to conduct scheduled maintenance on its fleet of power stations was progressing well. Eskom traditionally conducts the bulk of its maintenance programme in summer. Eskom said indications were that a valve reactor at the substation overheated during operation.
It said its technicians are busy with repair work, which is expected to be completed within five days. An investigation was currently underway to determine the root cause of the technical fault, the utility said.
The utility said it was hopeful to avert loadshedding during the course of the repair work on the sub-station. “Eskom has managed to supply power without any load shedding for just over four months except for two hours and 20 minutes,” it said.
Meanwhile, Eskom said Unit 2 at Koeberg Power Station in the Western Cape was due to be synchronised back into the grid today, adding 930 MW of capacity.
The current hot temperatures also have an impact in terms of increased demand with the use of air conditioners and reduced production at our dry-cooled power stations. “We therefore urge all our customers to use electricity efficiently and keep air coolers at 23 degrees,” Eskom said.
