Load shedding reduced to stage 3, as Eskom restores six power units

South Africa’s embattled power utility, Eskom, has announced that load shedding will be reduced to Stage 3 at 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday, 20 April 2022.

The country is expected to remain at this stage until Friday as the parastatal works on returning more units to service.

“Having returned to service six generation units over the past 24 hours, and with three more units set to return tomorrow, Eskom is pleased to be able to reduce the implementation of load shedding to Stage 3 starting at 22:00 tonight,” said the power giant in a statement.

Eskom says it will continue to adjust the stage of load shedding depending on the level of breakdowns.

A generation unit each at the Arnot and Kendal power stations was returned to service during the day, adding to the two Lethabo units, and one each at Camden and Matla power stations that returned to service on Tuesday night.

A unit each at the Majuba, Matimba and Arnot power stations is set to return to service by Thursday.

“Altogether, this will boost generation capacity and ease the constraints ahead of the weekend, in which we also expect lower demand,” Eskom said in a statement.

There are currently 5 787MW on planned maintenance, while another 14 259MW of capacity is
unavailable due to unplanned breakdowns.

Eskom said that power cuts are only implemented as a last resort to protect the national grid.

“We, therefore, request the public to continue using electricity sparingly, as we strive to return units to service.

“Eskom would like to apologise for the implementation of load shedding and will continue to closely
monitor the power system. We will promptly inform the public should there be any significant
developments,” concluded the power giant.

While the dark lords at Megawatt Park assured the nation that it would do everything in its power (excuse the pun) including implementing stage 8 to prevent a national blackout, energy analyst Chris Yelland warned that South Africa could be sailing precariously close to blackout.

Yelland is among dozens of netizens who have expressed concerns that South Africa’s electricity distribution has reached a crisis level.

Meanwhile, frustrated Joburg residents are often faced with additional power cuts on top of load shedding, due to local power stations being crippled under the strain of on-again-off-again power surges.

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