Durban — With Eskom escalating load shedding from stage 4 to stages 5 and 6 over the weekend, the eThekwini Municipality had provided residents with tips on how to avoid trips after load shedding.
The municipality said that trip-outs after load shedding are due to in-rush currents when networks are switched back on.
“To minimise the possibilities of trip-outs, residents are advised to switch off non-essential appliances during load shedding,” the municipality said.
“When the electricity supply returns, residents must not switch on appliances such as heaters, aircons, geysers, stoves and pool pumps all at once.”
“It is advisable to switch on each appliance, 15 minutes apart to reduce the risk of prolonged outages.”
The municipality added that residents must also take note that load shedding has a huge negative impact on electrical equipment as it was not designed for such frequent switching.
It said that it must also be noted that most of the city’s electrical equipment was submerged in water during the April floods and will continue to give us intermittent problems leading to outages.
“When there are faults in your normal source of supply, the municipality may supply you from a different source. This different source might not align with your load shedding schedule. This may be frustrating, but it is done to avoid lengthy outages for your area,” the municipality explained.
The public is encouraged to report faults to the city’s electricity WhatsApp line 076 791 2449 or email [email protected]
Daily News