Prepare for a week in the dark: Stage 4 load shedding continues until the weekend

Power utility Eskom has announced Stage 4 load shedding until the weekend.

It said this was because of increased demand and insufficient generating capacity to keep up emergency reserves.

Stage 4 will run from 2pm on Monday until 5am on Saturday.

“Eskom teams are working tirelessly to ensure that this additional generating units are returned to service
as soon as possible, it said.

It asked South Africans to use electricity sparingly to reduce the demand on the grid.

The country was plummeted into stage 6 load shedding last week, with the same reasons given by Eskom.

‘Major disappointment’

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa last week labelled the performance of Eskom’s generating units as a “major disappointment”, while the utility’s group executive for generation, Bheki Nxumalo, said air conditioners used to beat off the current heatwave may be one of the reasons for increased demand.

Meanwhile, Joburg Water said the high levels of load shedding and heatwaves meant the taps were running dry or low in several parts of the city.

“With the current heatwave, Johannesburg Water systems are under strain. In addition, stage 6 load shedding is further affecting towers and pump stations. This will result in poor pressure to no water in the affected systems and supply zones.”

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Dark days ahead

Energy analyst Lungile Mashele told The Citizen South Africans should prepare for dark days during the festive season.

“Bar a few days where demand may drop, e.g. Christmas [Day] then midday load shedding maybe suspended”.

She added a power system is “a minute-by-minute system and should be seen in that context”.

“Shortfalls are also momentary and not the whole day. Eskom’s load shedding is a function of the following: The desperate need for ramping capacity especially to meet the evening peak. Eskom is also burning a lot of diesel to meet the dispatchability and flexibility the system currently requires,” she added.

“The second is ambient temperatures. Basically, ambient temperatures affect plant performance. In extremely hot ambient temperatures units are more susceptible to breakdowns. The big impact is the cooling system that gets affected and will reduce plant output. It affects the efficiency of the cooling system.

“There’s then less power on the grid. The current heatwave, especially in the Lowveld, has a dire impact on the Eskom coal fleet.”

Additional reporting by Reitumetse Makwea