Eskom announces load-shedding stage increase after diesel fails to arrive
Eskom has announced that it will implement continuous stage 4 power cuts due to a shortage of diesel stocks.
The entire Camden power station also had to shut down.
“Camden Power Station has a technical problem with the water chemistry, has shut three units already this afternoon, and will shut the remaining four units,” the power utility said on Wednesday.
“The vessel that is supposed to offload diesel at Mossel Bay cannot berth due to rough seas,” said Eskom.
“Eskom has to therefore preserve the low diesel levels at Gourikwa, while delivery to Ankerlig will take time to replenish as it is done by road tankers.”
It will maintain stage 4 load-shedding until it can resume diesel supplies to the two open-cycle gas turbine stations, and replenish their stocks.
“Eskom will publish a more comprehensive statement tomorrow.”
The update to Eskom’s load-shedding timetable comes after the power utility announced earlier today that it planned to continue its alternating schedule of stage 3 and stage 4 load-shedding until at least Saturday.
Its initial plan was to implement stage 3 power cuts between midnight and 16:00 every day, then escalate to stage 4 during the evening peak until midnight.
South Africa has experienced record levels of load-shedding in 2022, and the current bout is Eskom’s longest recorded period of continuous rotational power cuts.
Popular load-shedding tracking app EskomSePush reported this week that Eskom had not suspended load-shedding in over 450 hours.
The previous record was just over 403 hours between 28 June 2022 and 15 July 2022.
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