SA electricity balanced, says Gigaba
2013-02-09 19:02
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Johannesburg - South Africa's electricity supply and demand has been
balanced, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba said on Saturday.
"The country’s power system is under constrain but I’m happy to
announce that both Eskom and government have managed to balance the electricity
supply and demand in the country," he said at the Seshego soccer stadium
in Polokwane.
He urged the community to use electricity sparingly during the provincial
launch of the 49M campaign in Limpopo.
The campaign, which was launched nationally in March last year, aims to
encourage individuals and businesses to lead energy smart lifestyles.
Gigaba said despite this balance being reached, government has noticed with
concern that energy was slowly becoming a scarce resource.
"It is against this background that 49M was launched, to urge South
Africans to partner with us as we try to create a country that is energy
efficient."
Gigaba said South Africans and business communities had to come together to
support the campaign.
"We are here today to call on this community to join us in our endeavour
to strengthen these partnerships and help us keep the country’s lights
on."
He asked residents to follow simple electricity saving tips such as
switching to energy-saving light bulbs and switching off appliances that were
not in use.
He also called on residents to be mindful when using electricity between 17:00
and 21:00 as the country consumed plenty of electricity during this period.
In closing Gigaba told residents to report illegal connections and cable
theft. He said these contributed to network overload and equipment failure,
causing the system to trip and result in localised power outages.
"It is time we change our behaviour. Simple things such as changing
cooking times and switching off what is not in use makes a big difference to
the electricity grid. If you don’t use it, please switch it off."
- SAPA
