Eskom announces load-shedding for Thursday
Eskom says it will again implement load-shedding throughout Thursday and continue the rotational power cuts until at least 05:00 on Friday morning.
In a statement on Wednesday afternoon, the power utility explained it had 17,395MW of generating capacity unavailable due to breakdowns, while a further 3,161MW of power was out on planned maintenance.
As a result of the shortage in generating capacity, stage 6 load-shedding would be implemented from 16:00 until 22:00 on Wednesday evening. Stage 4 load-shedding will then be implemented for the two remaining hours before midnight.
Between midnight and 05:00 on Thursday morning, load-shedding will be reduced to stage 2.
From 05:00 on Thursday morning until midnight, Eskom will again implement stage 4 load-shedding before dropping to stage 2 for the first five hours of Friday.
The load-shedding schedule until Friday morning is summarised below:
- Wednesday, 29 June 2022, 16:00-22:00 — Stage 6
- Wednesday, 29 June 2022, 22:00-00:00 — Stage 4
- Thursday, 30 June 2022, 00:00-05:00 — Stage 2
- Thursday, 30 June 2022, 05:00-00:00 — Stage 4
- Friday, 1 July 2022, 00:00-05:00 — Stage 2
Eskom has blamed the latest bout of load-shedding on an “unlawful strike” over a wage dispute with labour unions.
“Due to the unlawful and unprotected labour action, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants, Eskom is unable to return some generators to service,” the utility said.
“This has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve emergency generation capacity and safeguard plant from damage.”
Eskom said while some of its striking plant workers had started reporting for duty at the power stations, there was still a high level of absenteeism.
It warned the backlog in routine maintenance caused by the lack of workers could take weeks to clear.
“It is therefore important to note that the system will remain constrained and vulnerable to additional breakdowns while recovery activities are in progress,” Eskom said.
“There remains a risk that the stage of load-shedding may have to change at any time, depending on the state of the plant,” it added.
Loading ...