State electricity company Eskom said on Monday it did not expect to implement rotational blackouts as a result of a drop in demand during the holiday period and a return of some generating units to service.

The utility, however, cautioned that the power system remained vulnerable and unpredictable, leaving the door open for the load-shedding it has been forced to apply several times this year, mainly due to a breakdown in some generating units.

“Breakdowns … are at 13,729 MW as at 06:30 this morning,” Eskom said in a statement.

“Our technical teams will continue to work over the holiday period to monitor the situation, carry out planned maintenance and to work at reducing unplanned breakdowns to below 9,500 MW to enable us to minimise the possibility of loadshedding.”

(Source: ANA)