Breaking: Stage 2 load shedding EXTENDED until Saturday!

Image credit: Pixabay/fotoblend

Eskom: Expert says we are on the brink of a nation-wide blackout [audio]

Load shedding is looming over us, but it might just get worse, an expert says.

Breaking: Stage 2 load shedding EXTENDED until Saturday!

Image credit: Pixabay/fotoblend

Energy expert Ted Blom spoke to Martin Bester on Jacaranda FM, and said that it’s a daily fight to keep the lights on, and that there’s a possibility for a total blackout in the near future.

Blom also answered questions from listeners. One caller wanted to know if it was true that Koeberg is running on all reactors due to maintenance not being carried out as required. Blom confirmed that it was indeed the case, and added:

“Koeberg is only on one reactor at the moment. It has two. The one that is out of service is […] being refuelled at the moment and will probably come online again within the next 30 days if nothing goes wrong.”

Going forward, Blom suggests that a forensic audit be done at Eskom to “highlight and quantify the extent of the corruption and mismanagement and poor governance at Eskom.”

Also read: Alert: Eskom confirm Stage 2 load shedding will stay in place until Friday

The lights could go off permanently

Another user wanted to know if the power could go off completely and never come back again. Blom said it’s a possibility and explained that we are on the edge of that every day. If the power demand is exceeded even with 1 kilowatt, the entire grid could crash:

“That’s a daily fight. It’s done by Simmerpan Eskom control centre in Germiston. If they are asleep for one second of the day and the demand exceeds the supply, it will be like putting a spanner in your bicycle wheel. The whole system will just collapse.”

Ted Blom

When that happens, it could take weeks, if not months to rectify and the consequences would be disastrous. 

Blom said it’s possible for a competitor to dominate the scene soon, but the grid and output would be an obstacle to overcome. At some point the past, Blom suggested to his previous employer that Eskom be broken up into two entities, GridCo and GenCo, but his application was halted.

The size of the problem in monetary value:

He estimates that corruption at Eskom cost the taxpayer approximately R1.4 trillion over the last decade. Blom based this figure on the excess in tariff increases and the excess in borrowing that Eskom incurred.

If consumers feel that they are overcharged, Blom runs a billing advisory service. To date, 10 out of the 12 cases he handled “proven to be irregularly billed by Eskom.” Consumers could reach out to Blom on the Energy Expert Coalition’s website

Also read: Eskom address claims that load shedding is scheduled for Christmas

Listen: Ted Blom on the possibility of a nation-wide blackout