Eskom load shedding

Power lines / Image via LibreShot

Load shedding: Eskom continues Stage 2 cuts on Thursday 6 December

While South Africans may escape the rumoured plunge into proverbial darkness, citizens will still be subjected to Stage 2 load shedding on Thursday 6 December.

Eskom load shedding

Power lines / Image via LibreShot

Stage 2 load shedding will continue on Thursday 6 December as Eskom struggles to reactivate burdened power units.

South Africans have had to endure another week of debilitating electrical shortages stemming from Eskom’s dubious power plant maintenance plan. In an all too familiar statement, Eskom once again noted that load shedding will persist on Thursday due to “a number of generating units still out of service due to breakdowns”.

Eskom denies “blackout” rumours

The power utility has however denied rumours of a “national blackout”. While Eskom temporarily terminated Stage 2 rotational load shedding late on Wednesday evening, social media was met with a barrage of “blackout” news. The false warning, which managed to proliferate within the gullible incubator of social media, stated that, due to Eskom’s incompetence, the entire nation would be without electricity for most of the day. Eskom responded:

“ALERT: A message doing the rounds on social media alleging that there won’t be electricity tomorrow for the whole day is fake news. Where load shedding becomes a necessity, usually Eskom & municipalities implement it for a maximum of 4 hours per area. If in doubt, call 0860037566.”

Still, while Eskom may be able to keep the lights on rotation, for now, the possibility of a blackout in the near future is not too farfetched. This isn’t according to a frivolous social media post either but is the recent warning issued by energy expert, Ted Blom. However, the Energy Expert Coalition (EECO) member stated that if a blackout were to envelop South Africa, it would most certainly be unplanned, saying:

“If they [Eskom] 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.”

Eskom load shedding: Stage 2, Thursday 6 December

So while South Africans may escape the rumoured plunge into proverbial darkness, citizens will still be subjected to Stage 2 load shedding on Thursday 6 December. Eskom’s customary warning states:

“The probability of Stage 2 rotational load shedding remains high from 09:00 until 22:00.”

The power utility has promised to improve its position and services by Friday, in which case, South Africans may be spared the burden of Stage 2 load shedding. While this remains to be seen, energy experts expect Eskom’s situation to worsen.

Stage 2 load shedding allows for up to 2000 MW of the national load to be shed and can last for up to five hours at a time. To find out if your area will be affected by load shedding, visit Eskom’s online portal here: www.loadshedding.eskom.co.za.