South Africa faces imminent electricity load shedding
Funke Atohengbe, Pretoria

South Africa faces imminent load shedding as the Electricity Company, ESKOM has urged the citizenry to use electricity sparingly and switch of all non-essential appliances.

ESKOM says the load-shedding could last until March.

While the power utility had not confirmed reports of imminent power outages, it did indicate on its website that there was a risk of power cuts as it carries out station maintenance. 

Eskom spokesperson, Hilary Joffe said the maintenance was necessary as some power generating units had tripped and others were not performing well.

It is believed that ESKOM had asked its large customers, including municipalities, to reduce power use and switch off as many appliances as possible.

The last time South Africa experienced serious rolling power outages was in 2008 when there was a high demand for electricity and the national grid was under severe pressure.

Williams