Load shedding: Eskom losing control speaks to poor management

With seven consecutive evenings of load shedding as of last night, the lights are expected to stay off for the near future with Eskom unable to provide assurances for when this will change.

Eskom revealed yesterday that stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 5pm until 10pm tonight and tomorrow evening, and thereafter it will be reduced to stage 2 for the rest of the week.

According to Eskom, this was due to further loss of generating capacity with the demand high at those times.

Future as dark as ever

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said load shedding only happened when there was a shortage of generators, as a result of machines breaking down and Eskom being unable to meet the full demand for electricity.

There was no response as to why Eskom’s load was heavier when businesses were closed and almost everyone was at home.

Load shedding to continue for the rest of the week

In regard to implementing load shedding for an extended period of time for proper maintenance, Mantshantsha said it was not possible to put the country on an extended plan for load shedding as there was more than enough capacity to supply power “at certain times”.

Poor management

Political analyst Levy Ndou said Eskom faced the challenge of not being aware when it had to provide more people with electricity and it was also required to increase capacity.

Ndou said all this spoke to poor management within Eskom.

He said it should be blamed on the management of Eskom, the board and also the government as the overseer.

“If you employ engineers at Eskom, they should be advising management and the boards that supply should meet the demand, increase capacity and also service infrastructure, which has not been the case,” he said.

Failed mandate

Ndou said Eskom had now failed its mandate to simply provide electricity. If Eskom was not providing electricity in an efficient, uninterrupted manner, then it should be blamed.

“There is no way we could say there are failures at Eskom and then we point fingers elsewhere. It cannot work that way,” he said.

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Ndou added that he expected and hoped the right people would be appointed who would deal with the challenges at Eskom on a permanent basis, to ensure there were no power cuts in the future.

“Load shedding becomes necessary only when too many machines are broken,” he said.

Task team to assist Eskom

Antswisa Transaction Advisory chief executive and economist Miyelani Mkhabela said SA electricity challenges were now common.

Moreover, the power utility leaders had no solutions but only press statements to inform the country what they were unable to fix.

He said President Cyril Ramaphosa must establish a team which would assist Eskom to transition from this challenge of load shedding.

“This would affect the economy and investors in the manufacturing and mining industries,” he said.