Load-shedding is coming back

[TipCy]

Cause it's not load shedding... Refer to post above you

But the process is the same, just one affects a local transformer whilst the other the national grid. Load Reduction is just localized load shedding in a attempt to protect the transformer which would otherwise create a greater outage were it to blow. For the mere fact that is also applies during high load hours similar to load shedding doesn't mean it isn't load shedding; just that it effects fewer people.

 

[Heisenborg]

But the process is the same, just one affects a local transformer whilst the other the national grid. Load Reduction is just localized load shedding in a attempt to protect the transformer which would otherwise create a greater outage were it to blow. For the mere fact that is also applies during high load hours similar to load shedding doesn't mean it isn't load shedding; just that it effects fewer people.

Its fundamentally not the same thing

 

[Lupus]

But the process is the same, just one affects a local transformer whilst the other the national grid. Load Reduction is just localized load shedding in a attempt to protect the transformer which would otherwise create a greater outage were it to blow. For the mere fact that is also applies during high load hours similar to load shedding doesn't mean it isn't load shedding; just that it effects fewer people.

Load reduction is done to prevent damage to the local grid caused by people who don't pay... The exact problem keep moaning should be done, cut off those that don't pay. Eskom complies and people moan, plus this they only stopped this in 2022, otherwise they've been doing load reduction every winter.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

electricity supply seems to me like its one step away from disaster every day of the week, must be a stressful job trying to manage it all.

if it isnt total power failure with its resultant looting and anarchy, then its localized inconveniences like load reduction or full on scheduled load shedding when the ancient grid starts complaining

 

[Lupus]

electricity supply seems to me like its one step away from disaster every day of the week, must be a stressful job trying to manage it all.

if it isnt total power failure with its resultant looting and anarchy, then its localized inconveniences like load reduction or full on scheduled load shedding when the ancient grid starts complaining

Yes, everywhere in the world it's a step away from disaster 24/7 it's a massive job and why they have NOCs to try manage the power grids.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Yes, everywhere in the world it's a step away from disaster 24/7 it's a massive job and why they have NOCs to try manage the power grids.

so what made it degenerate into Stage 6 for weeks and months and years, and then as if by magic its all fixed suddenly without explanation.
I get they doing maintenance and bringing units online and bribing contractors to not deliberately break equipment,

and I get all over the world electric supply fails sometimes and causes havoc, but locally, what changed?
besides the fact that we had a political change where were in the era of coalitions, like every other democracy out there.

I still think it can/will come back, all it takes is one of the cards to fall over, and you dont need a lot to do that.

 

[Lupus]

so what made it degenerate into Stage 6 for weeks and months and years, and then as if by magic its all fixed suddenly without explanation.
I get they doing maintenance and bringing units online and bribing contractors to not deliberately break equipment,

and I get all over the world electric supply fails sometimes and causes havoc, but locally, what changed?
besides the fact that we had a political change where were in the era of coalitions, like every other democracy out there.

I still think it can/will come back, all it takes is one of the cards to fall over, and you dont need a lot to do that.

Without explanation?? I mean I'm pretty sure there's been plenty of explanations. 1 - 3 units of Kusile came back online that was 2400MW, a unit of Kusile was brought online adding another 800MW. The long term maintenance that plunged us into stage 6 actually paid off


See how the red goes down? Plus also notice the yellow being high at some points? Roughly when we had stage 6?

 

[porchrat]

so what made it degenerate into Stage 6 for weeks and months and years, and then as if by magic its all fixed suddenly without explanation.
I get they doing maintenance and bringing units online and bribing contractors to not deliberately break equipment,

This has been explained numerous times. It's not magic. For once a minimal absolute basic amount of work is actually being done.

We're all so used to the extreme incompetence and negligence that many of us just can't believe Eskom actually improved for a change. The reality is that it did. I know... I'm also surprised.

and I get all over the world electric supply fails sometimes and causes havoc, but locally, what changed?
besides the fact that we had a political change where were in the era of coalitions, like every other democracy out there.

I still think it can/will come back, all it takes is one of the cards to fall over, and you dont need a lot to do that.

Everywhere in the world electricity grids are run with only a limited buffer. Should something catastrophic happen and that buffer is lost loadshedding is what will happen.

Running a massive surplus is just wasteful and needlessly expensive.

Having said that Eskom has obviously not even maintained a buffer, let alone commissioned new stations to allow room for growth. Massive failure. The damage this electricity crisis alone has done to the economy is staggering. Likely outweighs everything the rest of the ANC has done combined.

Of course loadshedding can come back. Grid is still on a razor's edge... it's just now at least we're on the side of that edge that means we get electricity.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Without explanation?? I mean I'm pretty sure there's been plenty of explanations. 1 - 3 units of Kusile came back online that was 2400MW, a unit of Kusile was brought online adding another 800MW. The long term maintenance that plunged us into stage 6 actually paid off
See how the red goes down? Plus also notice the yellow being high at some points? Roughly when we had stage 6?

so will it come back? will it devolve into hello darkness my old friend soon?
because it sure seems to me with all the rain we had here in WC, or does Nuke power not care?

 

[porchrat]

Without explanation?? I mean I'm pretty sure there's been plenty of explanations. 1 - 3 units of Kusile came back online that was 2400MW, a unit of Kusile was brought online adding another 800MW. The long term maintenance that plunged us into stage 6 actually paid off
View attachment 1739345

See how the red goes down? Plus also notice the yellow being high at some points? Roughly when we had stage 6?

It's actually pretty incredible when you look at it like that. How that massive increase in maintenance correlates with the reduction in breakdowns a couple of months later.

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

Having said that Eskom has obviously not even maintained a buffer, let alone commissioned new stations to allow room for growth. Massive failure. The damage this electricity crisis alone has done to the economy is staggering. Likely outweighs everything the rest of the ANC has done combined.

Of course loadshedding can come back. Grid is still on a razor's edge... it's just now at least we're on the side of that edge that means we get electricity.

so all it takes is somebody to plug in a hairdryer and were fsked? all it takes is one bolt and the entire country is at stage 6,
we have zero redundancy, but for now at least we have brought some razor thin breathing room.

is that what changed? from the 90's and early 00's and before load shedding was a thing.
now were even more on the edge than we were back then?

 

[porchrat]

so will it come back? will it devolve into hello darkness my old friend soon?
because it sure seems to me with all the rain we had here in WC, or does Nuke power not care?

If Eskom stays on its current trajectory, with elevated maintenance levels, I doubt it will come back.

Eskom has already posted significantly less loss this financial year than the year before. This next financial year they estimate they're actually going to make a profit. There's real improvement.

If they rest on their laurels now though yea loadshedding is coming back. I'm not sure they can do that though. The ANC knows they're in deep trouble at the polls. Politically they want loadshedding gone.

 

[porchrat]

so all it takes is somebody to plug in a hairdryer and were fsked? all it takes is one bolt and the entire country is at stage 6,
we have zero redundancy, but for now at least we have brought some razor thin breathing room.

is that what changed? from the 90's and early 00's and before load shedding was a thing.
now were even more on the edge than we were back then?

There is buffer now. It's going to take a lot more than a hairdryer to bring back loadshedding. We're not that close to the edge. The whole of one of the larger stations like Kusile or Medupi would need to crash at this point.

I don't think many people were bothering to monitor things back in the 90s. I imagine the situation now is much more dire than back then.

You're seeing the graphs in this thread. Surely you understand how much better the situation is now than it was last year? Or are you just so conditioned to incompetence now that you can't comprehend things are actually getting better? There needs to be disaster around every corner always?

 

[rh1]