Eskom: Stage 3 load shedding on the cards from Thursday – De Ruyter

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter says they might reduce load shedding to stage 3 on Thursday, but that will all depend on the system.

De Ruyter held a virtual media briefing together with Eskom management on Wednesday, 20 April 2022, to give an update on the state of the grid.

The embattled power utility implemented stage 4 of the power cuts the day before due to breakdowns of generating units at some of its power stations. While there’s a strong chance of load shedding being reduced, the reality is the situation may well just deteriorate again.

Eskom has said that it anticipates between 37 and 101 days of load shedding this winter – this is the worst case scenario, as explained by the parastatal’s group head of transmission, Segomoco Scheppers.

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LOAD SHEDDING COULD BE SUSPENDED BEFORE WEEKEND

Andre de Ruyter says they expect units to return to service on Thursday – and if they in fact do, then load shedding could be suspended before the coming weekend.

De Ruyter adds that even though the system is currently unreliable and unpredictable, they do not foresee a total system blackout, which is good news, depending on how one looks at it.

“We a long way away from a total system collapse. Load shedding is a tool we use, and we have buffer capacity. Things can go to stage 8 – we don’t want to go there. I would caution against speculation and fear mongering. We do have plans in place and we do not anticipate this as a credible risk at this moment in time”

Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter

He says there has never been a total blackout in South Africa, but mentioned that this did actually happen in New York City back in 1978 and took them about a week to restore power.

YOU CAN ALSO READ: ‘100 days of darkness’: Eskom predicts BLEAK winter load shedding schedule