Image credit: Pixabay/fotoblend
Image credit: Pixabay/fotoblend
Load shedding has only been back in operation for three days, but we’re already more bored of it than we ever have been. The uncharted waters of Stage 4 outages took away a reported 40% of all power in South Africa on Monday, and Tuesday continued to bring the misery as Stage 3 blackouts were announced early in the morning.
Load shedding could come to an end “this week”
However, the night is always darkest just before the dawn, and it seems like relief is within touching distance for South Africans. Andrew Etzinger is a senior Eskom generation official, and he revealed to Reuters that the company are optimistic load shedding will be finished “by the end of the week”.
It’s in stark contrast to the expert opinions we’ve heard so far, where on-and-off blackouts have been predicted right up until the start of April. However, it would seem Eskom have now found a different tune to sing.
Why Eskom implemented Stage 4 load shedding
The reason such a drastic stage of load shedding was rolled out on Monday was due to the company’s loss of seven generation units. Suspicions of sabotage have been floated by some analysts, although Eskom have ruled out “disgruntled staff” as a cause of these damages.
By the close of play on Monday, four of these units were up and running again. Two more were restored on Tuesday morning, allowing the utility giant to reign in their forecast and implement Stage 3, rather than Stage 4.
What will happen next for Eskom?
Eskom’s recovery from such a devastating week began on Monday evening. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan was locked in discussions for six hours with the energy firm, as they aimed to pinpoint the exact reasons for this latest catastrophic chapter in the SOE’s history.
Two new power stations – Medupi and Kosile – have been labelled as “unreliable” by energy executives, and they apparently are not contributing “meaningfully” to the power supply. The Eskom board have also resolved to review when all “new build” projects will be completed.
Gordhan and his Eskom colleagues will also work together to increase output and minimise costs. However, they could be a decade too late. Financial projections of what these bouts of load shedding have cost South Africa since 2008 make for a tough read.
