GET TO KNOW YOUR Load shedding one stage at a time

Load shedding is a national crisis that has affected the economic growth of the country which trickles down to the ordinary citizen, one stage at a time.

ABOUT LOAD SHEDDING IN SOUTH AFRICA

This concept was introduced by Eskom in the later months of 2007 and would remain with South Africans for well over a decade.

According to Eskom, load shedding keeps the national power grid stable – to avoid a countrywide blackout.

ALSO READ: Eskom working HARD to avoid higher stages of loadshedding

“The higher the stage, the more power needs to be reduced across the country.”

Eskom

ALSO READ: EFF not surprised by permanent load shedding by Eskom

UNDERSTANDING EACH STAGE

The power utility elaborated further on stages, and Mega Watts (MW) shed during each stage.

• Stage 1: 1000 MW shed
• Stage 2: 2000 MW shed
• Stage 4: 3000 MW shed
• Stage 5: 5000 MW shed
• Stage 6: 6000 MW shed
• Stage 7: 7000 MW shed
• Stage 8: 8000 shed

Principles of the stage:

The higher the load-shedding stages, the more frequently you experience load-shedding.
The higher the stage, the greater the number of customers who will be affected.
Generally, load shedding in Stage 4 will result in customers not having electricity for 6 hours a day.

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How does it work?

The System Operator decides on the load shedding stage depending on the amount of power needed to balance the grid

Eskom and municipalities then implement load shedding on a rotational basis
Loadshedding is done in blocks of 2 to 4 hours at a time, depending on the schedule in your area.

DA SHADOW MINISTER OF ELECTRICITY TAKES AIM AT THE GOVERNMENT

Meanwhile, the Democratic Alliance (DA) reckons the finalisation of the protocols dealing with Stage 9 load shedding and beyond is nothing short of horrifying as South Africans struggle to cope with the 8 to 10 hours of blackouts a day imposed by the current Stage 6.
Weighing in on the crisis, Samantha Graham-Maré, the DA Shadow Minister of Electricity, said Stage 8 would see at least 12 hours a day without power in blocks of 4 hours and Stage 9 even worse. In addition, a move beyond Stage 8 would herald not only load shedding but electricity curtailment.

ALSO READ: DA concerned by escalating Stages of load shedding ushering into Winter