Watch: Increased load shedding no reason to fear grid collapse, says Eskom

Despite the ever-increasing levels of load shedding, and concerns from energy experts that South Africa’s grid could soon buckle under the demand for non-existent power, Eskom insists there is no need to fear.

South Africa continued to face stage 6 rolling blackouts on Friday, after power utility Eskom announced failures of generating units at Tutuka, Kriel, Duvha and Kendal power stations.

In the wake of higher load shedding stages, some experts believe it’s only a matter of time before the country is plunged into total darkness.

ALSO READ: Load shedding: SA just a few unit breakdowns away from total blackout

The Citizen’s Digital Senior Reporter Stephen Tau spoke to Eskom’s interim Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena this week, in an attempt to find out just how bad the situation is at the power utility.

She said these fears are currently unfounded.

Watch the full interview here:

Rapid vandalism rise on Eskom infrastructure

Mokwena says there has been a worrying increase in incidents of vandalism on Eskom infrastructure.

Just recently, Eskom again fell victim to theft and vandalism of its electricity infrastructure in the Tshwane area, after several pylons collapsed, plunging the city into darkness.

ALSO READ: Five more pylons collapse in Tshwane due to vandalism and theft

“Last year (2022) was the worst for us in terms of theft and vandalism on our infrastructure where for example in terms of copper replacement, we spent about R2 billion.

“This is really a worrying issue for us because there seems to now be an increase in this kind of crime as it also affects the economy as well as our customers on top of load shedding,” Mokwena said.