Due to high electricity demand, eThekwini Municipality has again been advised by the power utility Eskom to implement Stage 2 load shedding until 22h00 today, 06 February 2015.
We urge all customers to reduce their electricity consumption in order to reduce the severity of load shedding.
Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks are urged to switch off non-essential lights and not to leave office equipment such as photocopiers and computers on standby mode after hours.
In terms of load shedding per block, the schedule is always followed, however there are technical difficulties that can result is block mismatches and customers finding their power not going off at the stated time. This is usually caused by the following:
ALTERNATE CONNECTIONS TO SUBSTATIONS
The network is designed to have different connections to every substation. This ensures that under fault conditions, an alternate supply can be used to provide electricity to the affected substation while the fault is being fixed. The alternate supply is generally from a neighbouring area. Due to this dual connection, it allows for electricity to be speedily restored under fault conditions however, this creates difficulty in block allocations during load shedding.
A customer can technically receive their electricity from the substation within their area or the neighbouring area. Due to the dynamic nature of the electricity system, supply arrangements will change based on faults, maintenance programs etc. This results in block changes for an area. Every effort is being made to ensure that supplies are restored to their normal configuration preventing block changes and confusion.
Call centre agents on the number 08013131111, are only equipped to log faults and cannot assist residents in establishing which block they fall under in the load shedding grid. Only Municipal Technicians have access to the Geographic Information System and customers can email CustoCare@elec.durban.gov.za with their name, home address, and contact details. The email will be sent to the relevant technician who will respond to the customer.
The load shedding schedule is available on the Municipal website:
http://www.durban.gov.za/City_Services/electricity/Load_Shedding/Pages/default.aspx
