Load shedding is going nowhere slowly.
South Africa has been placed on a permanent state of Stage 2 or Stage 3 load shedding for at least the next three years as sukkeling utility Eskom implements its krag recovery plan.
Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana said on Sunday that the board met as much as 50 times over the last 112 days to discuss and contribute to the urgent power plan.
#LoadsheddingUpdate
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 23, 2023
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2 generating units at Tutuka Power Station were shut down during the night, while the return to service of an Arnot Power Station unit has been delayed, further reducing available capacity. Loadshedding will be maintained at Stage 3 until 16:00 on Monday
Eskom also confirmed that chances of Stage 8 load shedding had been reduced although a total blackout was still on the cards.
Eskom called a media briefing on Sunday morning to provide an update on the current system challenges.
Makwana said that the current estimated time for the first phase of return of full service is in 2024.
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Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented at 16:00 - 05:00.
Eskom will publish a full update during the afternoon.
He said that Eskom was named the Global Energy Utility Company of the Year in 2001 and it aimed to return to its glory days.
However, he warned that the execution of the power recovery plan will not happen in a short period of time.
He assured that Eskom, which celebrates 100 years in existence in March, does have the ability to fix its challenges.
“The challenges at Eskom are not insurmountable,” Makwana said.
“While the country has been experiencing high stages of load shedding in recent times, the current recovery plan aims to reduce those stages.”
#Eskom #MediaStatement
Eskom appreciates the difficulties experienced by the public because of persistent loadshedding, we are working tirelessly to reduce the amount of loadshedding pic.twitter.com/owFWp9G9Wu
Eskom has been at pains to explain that increasing load shedding stages was a last resort. Worryingly, it did not rule out a total blackout.
“But I can assure you that we are working with world-class teams who know exactly what to do. So that chance of a total blackout is reducing, however the system still remains unpredictable and volatile,” CEO Andre de Ruyter said.
He also warned that municipal debt is approaching R57 billion.
dailyvoice@inl.co.za