Eskom says sorry for stage 6 load shedding
Embattled power utility Eskom says that it “regrets” escalating load shedding to stage 6 – but wants the nation to know it is doing everything it can to bring generation back online.
“Eskom regrets the escalation of load shedding to Stage 6 but would like to assure all South Africans that our personnel at the various power stations are working around the clock to bring units back online and at higher efficiencies as soon as possible,” it said.
The group said that the latest escalation of load shedding is due to compounding issues.
Apart from other generation challenges, the current situation has been exacerbated by the loss of four major units, which are on extended outages, it said.
“Units 1, 2 and 3 of Kusile Power Station are currently offline as a result of the failure of the Unit 1 flue gas duct on 22 October 2022. Work is underway to bring these units back online from November 2023.
“Unit 1 at Koeberg Power Station is currently on a long-term outage for maintenance and refuelling as well as the replacement of the steam generators and is expected to return to service on 6 August 2023.”
The unavailability of the three units at Kusile and the unit at Koeberg 1 has removed 3,080MW of capacity from the grid. This is equivalent to 3 stages of load shedding.
“Eskom continues to drive generation recovery initiatives which are aimed at preventing the current performance from deteriorating in the short term and improving the overall performance of the generation fleet in the long-term,” the group said.
The root causes of the persistent plant breakdowns will also be addressed through the Generation Recovery Programme, it said.
“There have been some improvements recently, including several power stations achieving an energy availability of 70% in March as well as the suspension of load shedding on some days.”
Eskom said that load shedding is implemented as a last resort to protect the grid. While it does not want to implement load shedding at all if possible, the reality is that the power system remains under severe pressure.
There is a high possibility that load shedding will continue to be implemented at varying stages, with the cold front expected this weekend anticipated to further increase the demand for electricity, adding to the capacity constraints – especially at evening peak hours from 17h00 until 21h00.
The group pleaded with South Africans to assist with reducing demand by switching off heating and high-consumption appliances during peak hours.
“Eskom will continue to provide regular updates on the power system through the various communication platforms,” it said.
Read: Stage 6 load shedding continues this weekend – here’s the new schedule