Eskom urges consumers to save power

Cape Town - 121022 - South African power utility Eskom has applied to more than double the price of its electricity over the next five years. The state-owned utility said it has applied for a 16 percent annual increase for five years from April 2013 to March 2018. Many South Africans are struggling with the current cost of electricity. Pictured is teacher Michael Guzana with his son Hluma Guzana. Reporter: Yolisa Tswana PICTURE: SUPPLIED

Cape Town - 121022 - South African power utility Eskom has applied to more than double the price of its electricity over the next five years. The state-owned utility said it has applied for a 16 percent annual increase for five years from April 2013 to March 2018. Many South Africans are struggling with the current cost of electricity. Pictured is teacher Michael Guzana with his son Hluma Guzana. Reporter: Yolisa Tswana PICTURE: SUPPLIED

Published Apr 8, 2013

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Johannesburg - Eskom on Monday urged South Africans to save at least 10 percent of their electricity usage during peak hours.

“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,” the power utility said in a system status bulletin.

Total demand on Monday evening was forecast to reach 31 392 megawatts. Capacity available to meet the demand was at 34 022MW, including open cycle gas turbines.

Eskom said it continued to make progress with its programme of planned maintenance, but the system “remained tight”.

Peak demand for power is between 5pm and 9pm. - Sapa

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