Pretoria: Eskom is working towards restoring power in parts of KwaZulu-Natal as a result of severe weather conditions, the company said on Wednesday.

Severe weather conditions in KwaZulu-Natal had impacted five of its transmission lines in the province, affecting supply in parts of eThekwini, the Natal Midlands and southern KwaZulu-Natal.

“Eskom has had staff and helicopters on site since the early hours of the morning and is working to restore supply to all affected areas, although snow and poor visibility have made access difficult.

“More than 70 000 customers in the province have been affected by interruptions to power supply. We apologise to them and will do our outmost to restore supply as soon as possible,” said Eskom.

The power parastatal urged all customers, particularly those in KwaZulu-Natal, to use electricity sparingly and to switch off all non-essential appliances, especially during the evening peak hours from 5pm – 9pm.

Nationally, Eskom has met demand for electricity, which has increased in response to the cold weather. There is also sufficient generation capacity to meet demand over the weekend.

Local and regional network infrastructure had been affected by snow and rain in areas in the Eastern Cape. Eskom was monitoring the areas carefully and working to restore supply to affected customers.

“Last night’s evening peak was about 35 800 MW. This is approximately the same as the peak experienced year to date. This morning’s peak forecast is 32 752 MW and this evening’s peak forecast is 33 738 MW, which may be revised depending on how the weather impacts demand during the day,” said Eskom.

The available generation for the evening is about 37 000 MW. Demand is expected to drop going into the public holiday [Women’s Day] and the school holiday on Friday.