Eskom has announced that load shedding will be implemented in South Africa from 14:00 today until 05:00 on Saturday.
The embattled power utility had yesterday warned South Africans that load shedding was back on the cards after a brief period where the country was given a break from blackouts since the previous weekend. It had requested South Africans to reduce their power usage as five generating units had gone offline yesterday.
“Regretfully, due to the ongoing insufficient generation capacity and the loss of a unit each at Medupi, Duvha and Kendal power stations this morning Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented,” Eskom said in a statement shared on Twitter. The utility says that again, load shedding will be implemented to “preserve the emergency reserves at the OCGT and pump storage power stations in order to prevent higher stages of load shedding.”
Regretfully, Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 today until 05:00 on Saturday@News24 @Newzroom405 @SABCNews @eNCA @SundayTimesZA @SowetanLIVE pic.twitter.com/3ZDo63nyfZ
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 17, 2021
“Of the five units that failed yesterday, a unit at Majuba, Kriel and Matimba power stations [each] have been returned to service while the remaining two units are undergoing boiler tube leak repairs.”
Currently, Eskom says, South Africa’s power grid is highly vulnerable, with total breakdowns across the company’s generation units sapping 15,485MW from the grid, while routine maintenance is removing a further 4,100MW of capacity.
“We remind customers that load shedding is implemented as a last resort to maintain the stability of the power system regardless of the stage of load shedding,” Eskom writes.
Just as this latest round of load shedding was announced, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter warned that there was an increased risk of load shedding “for the days ahead” during an online briefing.
Media briefing: Eskom update on current system challenges https://t.co/KtADB8GBQv
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 17, 2021
By Luis Monzon
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