Eskom stage 2 load-shedding to continue over the weekend
Eskom has announced that stage 2 load-shedding will continue over the weekend due to further breakdowns.
“Regrettably, the implementation of stage 2 load-shedding will be extended to 23:00 on Sunday as the generation capacity is severely constrained,” Eskom said.
“Over the past 24 hours, further breakdowns occurred at three power stations, putting further strain on the generation capacity.”
The breakdowns occurred at the Kriel, Medupi, and Kendal power stations, which resulted in generation units being taken offline for various faults.
Eskom added that “emerging risks” at other power stations have contributed to the power generation constraints.
“While Eskom used the load-shedding of the past two days to replenish the emergency generation reserves, we have had to utilise the emergency reserves to supplement supply,” it said.
“This period of load-shedding will be used to replenish the emergency generation reserves.”
Eskom currently has 7,071MW on planned maintenance with another 11,780MW of capacity being unavailable due to breakdowns and delays in restoring them.
Load-shedding likely to continue next week
Eskom added that load-shedding may continue over the next week if it continues to fail in returning power units to service.
“Eskom is working hard to return the units back to service, and should the previously stated risks materialise and units not return as expected, there is a high probability that load-shedding may continue into the coming week,” Eskom said.
The power utility said it will continue to assess and communicate promptly as the situation changes.
“As previously communicated, Eskom continues to implement reliability maintenance during this period, and as such, the system will continue to be constrained, with the possibility of load-shedding remaining elevated.”
“Eskom requests the public to continue using electricity sparingly as the system remains vulnerable and unpredictable, and we will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power system,” the power utility added.
Stage 2 loadshedding will be extended to 23:00 on Sunday following the loss of further
generation capacity and to replenish emergency generation reserves pic.twitter.com/XtQ2MFtSaV— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 12, 2021
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