Residents had to adapt their life styles again after Stage 2 load shedding was introduced by Eskom on Sunday, followed by a more drastic intervention when Stage 4 restrictions became a reality on Monday. On Tuesday the load shedding was slightly relaxed to Stage 3 from 08:00 until 23:00.
“Due to continued pressure on the national grid, Eskom will implement Stage 4 load shedding from 13:00 today and it is likely to continue until 22:00. Since this morning we have unexpectedly lost six additional generating units which have put additional strain on the system,” Eskom announced in a media release on Monday.
On Tuesday, Eskom confirmed that despite the fact that the generating units returned to service as planned, emergency reserves (diesel and water) were still low.
“Stage 1 requires 1 000 megawatt, Stage 2 requires 2 000 megawatt, Stage 3 requires 3 000 megawatt and Stage 4 requires for 4 000 megawatt to be rotationally load shed nationally at a given period. Load shedding is conducted nationally as a measure of last resort to protect the power system,” the statement reads.
In a national development, the board of Eskom met with Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan on Monday. At the meeting, it was resolved to institute an urgent review to establish when the Medupi and Kusile power stations may realistically be completed, the extent of design- and other operational faults, what steps can be implemented to minimise the ever-escalating costs and what can be done to increase output. “The board is also urgently embarking on an in-dept audit of the entire system to ensure that every technical problem is understood at a granular level and to avoid unexpected crises as seen today,” Eskom said in a media release on Monday, adding that Medupi and Kusile are continuing to show a lack of reliability to contribute meaningfully to Eskom’s generating capacity, which is a serious concern.
The Chairman of Eskom’s board, Jabu Mabuza is quoted in the media release to have said: “We remain uncomfortable about the stability of the generating system but will keep the country informed of our progress over the next few days in providing better assurance about electricity supply.”
Eskom appealed to consumers to use electricity sparingly at this point in time and advised residents and businesses to switch off geysers and non-essential lighting and appliances to reduce demand.
The loadshedding schedules for Eskom consumers are available on the Eskom website https://loadshedding.eskom.co.za and for municipal users on www.polokwane.gov.za.
Story: BARRY VILJOEN
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