Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash
Photo by Jarl Schmidt on Unsplash
After just four hours of respite, load shedding will again come in effect from Friday morning, and it’s set to last right through until Saturday. Eskom have taken the unusual step of keeping the practice in place throughout the day and overnight, suggesting that something is gravely wrong at the utility.
The group released a statement on Friday morning, further explaining their predicament. Following an unreserved apology on Thursday, Eskom have confirmed that emergency diesel and water reserves are being plundered to prevent a worse stage than the one we’re currently experiencing.
Load shedding for Friday 6 December and Saturday 7 December
Stage 2 cuts have been put in place for the rest of the day. They come into affect at 9:00, and will last through until 6:00 on Saturday 7 December. On Thursday, a shortage of capacity was blamed for the surprise implementation of power cuts. On Friday, it seems like the problems have multiplied. Eskom are blaming this event on the following:
- Over 12 500 MW is unavailable for the electricity grid.
- Extreme weather and heavy rain has created a “coal supply” problem.
- “Wet coal” is useless for generation power, and many of their reserves have been doused during the storms.
- Technical teams have been unable to return units from unplanned maintenance.
- Water reserves for pumped storage schemes have been left unreplenished.
How to check your daily load shedding schedule
To find out if, or when, your area or suburb will be impacted by load shedding, you first need to know whether your supply of electricity comes directly from Eskom or from the municipality. Let’s deal with Eskom-direct supplied areas first.
Eskom’s load shedding portal provides up to date details on the current stage of load shedding, the propensity for further rotational cuts, and an area search for direct consumers. It’s an easy to use search function, which although not always 100% accurate, at least provides a rough estimate of what to expect, when.
To check your daily load shedding schedule, go onto loadshedding.eskom.co.za and type either your suburb/village/area into the quick search field. You can also call Eskom’s customer care centre at 0860 037 566.
If your power isn’t supplied by Eskom…
Do you get your electricity from a municipality? If so, please consult this table for a list of relevant contacts.
- You can read the statement from Eskom here:
#POWERALERT 1
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 6, 2019
Date: 6 December 2019
Stage 2 loadshedding will continue today from 09:00 until 06:00 on Saturday, 7 December 2019
@@News24 @CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @CityofCT @eThekwiniM @CityofJoburgZA @TrafficSA @ewnupdates @SABCNewsOnline @SAfmRadio @IOL pic.twitter.com/5gDOPTEI8t
