South Africa will have loadshedding after 10 months of being in the light. Picture: File
After more than 10 months of uninterrupted electricity supply, South Africa is facing the return of load shedding.
Eskom has issued an alert, warning of a high risk of rolling blackouts at short notice, with the implementation of Stage 3 load shedding which kicked in on Friday evening.
"This is a potentially temporary setback," said Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane.
"Load shedding is largely behind us due to the structural improvements in our generation fleet. However, over the past seven days, we’ve experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times.
“This has necessitated the use of all our emergency reserves, which now need to be replenished. Consequently, we are closely monitoring the status of our current emergency reserves.”
Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr. Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, responded to the looming crisis with a measured tone at a press conference held on Friday.
“We are within touching distance of resolving load shedding,” he said.
“The trend line is moving positively in addressing the losses we’ve experienced. However, if setbacks like this continue, it will be a huge disappointment, but it should not distract us from the progress we’ve made.”
Ramokgopa stressed that the return of load shedding was not indicative of any fundamental failure.
“Ordinarily, there shouldn't be load shedding. But we were thrown a spanner in the works. It’s like we were hit by a perfect storm of planned maintenance and unforeseen breakdowns.
“This includes two of our best-performing station units failing, which is the second matrix, as well as delays in other units coming online,” he explained.
The failures at some of Eskom’s key power stations have exacerbated the situation.
Bheki Nxumalo, Group Executive Generation, Eskom said that repairs on the units that have been gone down has started and the repairs will continue this weekend.
He explained that the setback was caused when boiler tubes failed and caused that six units were lost between two of the countries main power stations Matimba and Lethabo.
Nxumalo added that they are hoping to keep the load shedding level on three but its all dependent on the maintenance.
“We had to rely on open-cycle gas turbines, burning diesel, which exhausted our power reserves. For purposes of preserving the grid, we had no choice but to initiate Stage 3 load shedding,” Marokane said.
In a troubling admission, Ramokgopa acknowledged that the power utility is not following its intended record and schedule.
“We cannot continue without load shedding indefinitely. We need to replenish all the reserves and protect the integrity of the system. We are in the process of getting things back on track.”
The decision to implement Stage 3 loadshedding over the weekend comes as a direct response to the 13 000 MW of generation capacity lost in the past week due to various breakdowns and maintenance delays.
Eskom said it is working around the clock to address the issues and bring the affected units back online.
“Units at Lethabo and Kendal are starting to return to service, and the first unit at Lethabo is expected to come online tomorrow. We are working through the night to bring the rest back as soon as possible. Our teams are doing everything they can to get us back to a more stable position,” said Ramokgopa.
The situation remains critical, as Eskom needs to create space in the grid for any unexpected breakdowns that may occur.
“This is an operational matter, and it’s not related to any external factors,” Ramokgopa emphasised.
Despite the short-term setback, both Marokane and Ramokgopa remain hopeful for a brighter future.
“By March, we should be comfortable enough to say that load shedding is behind us,” Ramokgopa said.
“We need to stay on the course and protect the integrity of the system. We are on the right track, and we cannot afford to let these setbacks distract us from the progress we are making.“
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