A hoax statement alleging that Eskom notified government that the main grid could possibly crash and plunge the country into darkness for two weeks, has been dismissed by government.

Government reached out to assured South Africans that the country’s energy challenges are receiving priority at the highest level to resolve the situation and the message that went viral on Tuesday was untrue.

“The message regarding Eskom is not true and is meant to create unnecessary panic. Load shedding is a controlled and planned method to ensure that the power system is protected from a total blackout,” said the Communications Department Acting Director-General, Donald Liphoko, on Tuesday.

Government is confident that the measures it is introducing will ensure the country does not reach a point of a complete blackout.

Liphoko said government is committed to finding a long-lasting solution to address the current energy situation and urged people to refrain from spreading rumours.

Liphoko urged all electricity users, including residential, government, industries and business to ignore the hoax messages. He said Eskom is the only source of information on issues pertaining to electricity.

“All South Africans are part of the country’s energy solution by adhering to the power alerts during critical periods, which help protect the national grid.

“While it is important to consider all scenarios as part of planning, the national power grid is stringently managed so that we prevent any worst case scenarios from taking place.

“Eskom and government will continue communicating with the public on any issues relating power supply,” said Liphoko.

-SAnews.gov.za