Slight reprieve for SA as Eskom confirms lower stages of load shedding

Following what was described as the coldest week since the start of the current winter season which saw the demand for electricity shoot up again amid higher stages of load shedding, South Africans can breathe a sigh of relief for now.

The rolling blackouts were briefly suspended by Eskom in the early hours of Sunday, before stage 2 kicked in around 8:00am.

South Africans were plunged into stage 6 load shedding for the better part of last week in the wake of bitterly cold weather conditions.

The situation was made even worse for City of Johannesburg residents who had to endure a 58-hour long water shutdown.

ALSO READ: Electricity minister confident SA will survive winter amid power boost

In a brief statement issued on Sunday, Eskom said the pumped storage dam levels have been adequately replenished for the week ahead.

“Diesel levels at the OCGT [Open-cycle gas turbines] power stations have improved but remain low.

“Therefore, Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 8am until 4pm on Sunday,” the power utility said.

Stage 4 load shedding will then kick in until 5am on Monday.

“Eskom will publish an update as soon as any significant changes occur.”

Earlier this month, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena told The Citizen that the high demand in the evenings still required load shedding to be implemented as there was insufficient installed capacity of OCGTs to make up the entire shortfall.

Mokwena also warned of the possibility of stage 8.

“A high demand for electricity for the remainder of winter will be determined largely by how cold weather sets in across the country in the coming weeks and what the generation capacity available will be when that occurs.

“While less likely, given the current performance of the Eskom generation fleet, stage 8 load shedding is still a possibility this winter, but during the warmer period, stage 3 to 4 load shedding is to be expected while colder periods may increase this,” said Mokwena.

She said should a cold spell coincide with multiple generator breakdowns, high stages of load shedding may be necessary.

NOW READ: ‘Don’t praise Eskom’: Lower load shedding stages due to alternative energy, says analyst