Eskom pushes load shedding to stage 6

Eskom has pushed load shedding to stage 6 from 4pm on Monday until 5am on Tuesday.

Thereafter, stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 5am until 4pm on Tuesday.

The ailing parastatal said this pattern will be repeated daily until further notice.

Eskom crisis communication manager Menzi Mngomezulu said the utility will publish another update if there are any significant changes.

Breakdowns

“Due to the delays in returning 10 generating units to service, stage 6 load shedding will be implemented.

Mngomezulu said breakdowns are currently at 18 751MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 2 407MW.

“Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Hendrina and Kendal power stations were returned to service. In the same period, a generation unit each at Duvha, Kriel and Tutuka power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns.

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Delays

“The further delays in returning to service a generating unit at Arnot, Duvha, Hendrina, Kendal, Kriel, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba and two generating units at Camden power stations continue to add to the current capacity constraints.

He said Eskom teams are working around the clock ensure that generating units are returned to service as soon as possible.

“We thank those South Africans who do heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers from 5pm to 9pm, in helping to alleviate the pressure on the power system and avoiding higher stages of load shedding.”

Mbeki on power stations

With winter about to set in and Eskom warning that that load shedding may hit stage 8 during the colder periods, former president Thabo Mbeki questioned the shocking state of South Africa’s power stations, suggesting that the delay in completing the Kusile Power Station is a “deliberate and conscious decision”.

South Africa has been battling to keep the lights on with prolonged daily outages which has severely impacted the businesses and the country’s fragile economy.

Mbeki claimed there must be someone who is “deliberately trying to block” the effectiveness of South Africa’s power stations.

The former president did not disclose who the “somebody” was.

Incomplete work

He said a decision was taken during the State of the Nation Address in 2004 that Eskom must build new power stations.

“Those power stations were Kusile and Medupi. We have not finished Kusile up to now. That is 19 years later. How do you explain that? Somebody needs to look at that in a focused way. How do you explain this, you can’t take 19 years to finish a power station.

“It is because somebody did not want the power station to be finished. Deliberate conscious, so we must find out that in order to move,” he questioned.

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