Photo by Iván Rivero from Pexels
Photo by Iván Rivero from Pexels
If you don’t laugh, you’ll cry. The nightmare before Christmas has unfolded on Thursday, as Eskom made the surprise announcement that load shedding was returning from 16:00. Thanks guys, you always get us the best presents.
Eskom have been warning of a “constrained system” throughout December, suggesting that a lack of generational power could cut the lights at any moment: Their prophecy has come true.
Why have Eskom implemented load shedding on Thursday:
We know that blackouts will begin from 16:00, and continue right through to 23:00. It’s unclear whether this schedule will be repeated on Friday. The firm initially stated that a “shortage of capacity” is to blame for this latest power outage, but just after 15:30, Eskom further explained what had caused the latest power outages:
- More than 12 300 MW of power has been taken off the grid;
- “A loss of additional generational power” has been identified as the main culprit;
- Abnormally high levels of “unplanned breakdowns” have been reported throughout the day; and
- Eskom’s hand was eventually forced when emergency diesel and water reserves began to run low.
“The severe supply constraint has come about due to high levels of unplanned breakdowns that have exceeded our 10 500 MW limit. We unreservedly apologise to South Africans and the negative impact this may have on them. We are continuing to work tireless to ensure the security of our electricity supply.”
Eskom statement
How it came to this
In the build-up to this latest round of load shedding, Eskom had posted a number of alerts which suggested there would be trouble with the grid to come. On Sunday, we came very close to enforced power cuts, as a constrained system barely kept its head above the water. The supply would only hold out for a few more days.
The news comes as Eskom enters a new year under different leadership, and with its reputation at an all-time low. With more than R450-billion of debt to clear, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan has claimed the utility can be saved by unbundling it into three different departments, and “grouping” certain plants to compete against one other.
We suggest incoming Eskom chief executive Andre de Ruyter enjoys his Christmas holidays – because when he starts work in January, he is going to have a mountain of issues to contend with.
- You can read Eskom’s full statement on Thursday’s load shedding schedule here:
#POWERALERT 2
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 5, 2019
Date: 05 December 2019
Stage 2 loadshedding from 16:00 today @ewnupdates@SABCNewsOnline @IOL @SAgovnews @News24 @TheCitizen_News @SowetanLIVE @JacaNews @Radio702 @dailymaverick @TimesLIVE @mailandguardian @Fin24 @Moneyweb pic.twitter.com/xBQU69uHxU
