Eskom to implement stage 2 load shedding from 6pm on Monday

Eskom has announced that stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 6pm on Monday.

The power utility announced at the weekend that stage 2 load shedding would be suspended on 5am on Monday, and implemented again from 9pm on Monday and Tuesday nights.

However, Eskom says it will have to implement load shedding from 6pm due to more breakdowns at Kusile and Matimba power stations.

“Unit 1 of Kusile and Matimba Unit 5 have just tripped, taking off 1 300MW of capacity adding to the capacity constraints,” said spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.

“Eskom would like to apologise for the inconvenience caused by the implementation of load shedding, and requests the public to reduce the usage of electricity in order to help us through the constraints.”

“The load shedding will continue as previously communicated and an update will be issued should the need arise.”

‘Poor maintenance’ to blame

Eskom’s generation business – under the helm of Eskom’s chief operating officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer – remains a concern, “mainly due to its age and a legacy of poor maintenance”.

Oberholzer on Monday acknowledged the burden of load shedding and the “significant damaging effect” it has on the economy and apologised for the current state of affairs.

“We do have plans and focus areas. We deal with a situation and system that is unreliable and unpredictable, and how neglected power stations are.”

The COO said the challenges Eskom face “are huge, but we are chipping at it, we are moving forward”.

On the generation side, it’s not where we want to be but we have reasons for being where we are.

Oberholzer

Yet Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) has declined to 65%, against a target of 70% EAF. Eskom blamed this on maintenance and unplanned outages.

Additional reporting by Cheryl Kahla