South Africa (not) shocked as Eskom announces national grid under strain

It was just another typical Tuesday afternoon in South Africa, as news outlets continued rolling coverage of the usual scandals and mess unfolding in the country.

But Eskom’s power grid, for once was not part of that mix – until now.

Citizens were still reeling from learning that our millionaire President Cyril Ramaphosa, who famously breeds genetically superior African game species, allegedly concealed the proceeds of sales (in US dollars nogal) away in the furniture at his Phala Phala wildlife farm residence.

Questions about whether Ramaphosa hid his millions from Sars were raised, and opposition parties united in calling for investigations when the news cycle proceeded to the next unfolding crisis: the notorious Indian-born Gupta brothers were arrested in Dubai.

But, not to be outdone, the shadowy rulers of Megawatt Park – aka Mordor, decided to remind South Africans about who is really the kingmaker of news, with another announcement of the national grid being constrained.

The givers and takers of light at the mostly powerless parastatal are warning that load shedding may be implemented at short notice during Tuesday evening, ‘should there be any significant breakdowns.’

“While no load shedding is currently anticipated, Eskom cautions the public that due to the continued shortage of generation capacity, the power system will be very constrained for this evening,” it said in a statement.

“Should there be any significant breakdowns, load shedding may be required at short notice, most likely during the evening peak of 17:00 – 22:00.”

Eskom continues to closely monitor the system and will adjust and communicate any changes as it happens.

“We appeal to all South Africans to help limit the impact of the shortages by continuing to reduce the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.”

There’s currently 2 195MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 950MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.

The four horsemen of rolling blackouts (CEO Andre De Ruyter, CFO Calib Cassim, COO Jan Oberholzer and spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantha) are cautioning the public that as the shortage of generation capacity persists, the system will continue to be constrained with an elevated risk of load shedding over the coming weeks.

“We would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid. We, therefore, urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially between 05:00 – 09:00 in the mornings and 16:00 – 22:00 in the evenings,” concluded Eskom.

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