- Eskom has informed the South African public that the tropical storm Eloise has at this point, not had any major negative impact on operations.
- With the heavy rains continuing across Mpumalanga, Limpopo and parts of KwaZulu-Natal, Eskom continues to monitor the storm and its impact on operations it said in a statement released earlier today.
On Sunday night the storm passed through the transmission lines from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique without any incident. The high risk sections of the transmission lines were reinforced after similar storms in previous years. The risk, however, remains with the possible flooding of rivers and uprooting of trees in the areas surrounding the transmission lines.
Operations at the power stations continue as normal. Eskom teams will continue to monitor the progress of the storm and impact of the heavy rains. Typically, heavy rainfall for four or less days does not pose a significant threat to power station operations, but continuous heavy rainfall for more than four days does hamper coal handling at the power stations and the mines supplying them.
Power lines in some parts of the Mpumalanga, Limpopo and northern KwaZulu-Natal provinces did experience localised outages as a result of trees and poles falling on power lines districts. Consumers in these communities are requested to be patient as the Eskom repair teams are working as fast as they can within the safety parameters during the storms to restore electricity.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
