Eskom load-shedding is here to stay

Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer has given an update on the status of load-shedding for this coming week in an interview with Radio 702.

The embattled power utility announced this morning that it would implement load-shedding from 09:00 until 23:00 due to a shortage of capacity.

Oberholzer said that load-shedding could continue for the next week due to the constraints on Eskom’s power generation system.

“At this point in time realistically, we believe load shedding may continue for the next week,” Oberholzer said.

“Should the system improve, obviously we will relieve load-shedding wherever we can,” he added.

In its previous statement, Eskom attributed the power supply constraints to high levels of unplanned breakdowns.

“The supply constraint is caused by, among others, five generating units that are unavailable due to boiler tube leaks,” it said.

“In addition, a conveyor belt supplying Medupi power station with coal failed on Saturday (12 October) resulting in low volumes of coal being supplied to the power station thus limiting the generating capacity to approximately half the station output.”

Eskom said it would keep customers informed if there are any further changes to the power system.

“We unreservedly apologise to South Africans for the negative impact this may have on them and want to assure the nation that we continue to work tirelessly to ensure the security of energy supply,” Eskom said.

Load-shedding warnings

After Eskom managed to prevent load-shedding for several months, it was reported in August that an acceleration in economic growth in South Africa could trigger new power cuts.

This was because Eskom’s “fragile generation system” was said to be unable to respond to increased demand for electricity.

This followed a statement from Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan in April that Eskom had a plan to fight load-shedding in the country.

Gordhan said Eskom’s goal was to ensure there would be no load-shedding from 3 April – but that there was a lot of hard work ahead for the company.

Now read: Why load-shedding is back