- Stage 3 is in effect from 00:00 to 16:00 each day.
- Stage 4 comes into effect from 16:00 to 00:00 to account for the evening peak demand.
- Diesel supply constraints continue to plague Eskom’s operation of Open Cycle Gas Turbines.
This weekend saw South Africans celebrating Heritage Day alongside Stage 4 and then Stage 3 loadshedding which, one could argue, has become part of our heritage. Sad as that may be.
Had citizens and businesses hoped the situation would improve, their hopes were somewhat misplaced. On Sunday afternoon Eskom announced that Stage 3 and Stage 4 loadshedding would be permanent fixtures for the week ahead.
“Stage 3 loadshedding continues to be implemented at 00:00 – 16:00 daily until Thursday. Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented daily during the evening peaks between 16:00 and 00:00,” Eskom announced.
Stage 3 loadshedding will continue to be implemented between 00:00 and 16:00 until Thursday, while Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented daily during the evening peaks from 16:00 until 00:00 pic.twitter.com/HyfpJXkgV9
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 25, 2022
The utility said it would provide further updates on Wednesday afternoon or when there are significant changes.
As for the diesel procurement situation, Eskom says it expects deliveries from Tuesday onwards but it says it is still experiencing constraints that affect the availability of diesel. Unfortunately, these constraints meant that if fuel can’t reach the Ankerlig and Gourikwa Open Cycle Gas Turbines – which contribute 2 000MW to the grid – higher stages of loadshedding could be required.
To add to the woes, a generation unit at Camden and Kriel power stations were taken offline on Friday for repairs.
In total, 22 636MW of capacity is unavailable with 16 739MW of that figure unavailable due to breakdowns.
In marginally good news, a generating unit at Kriel and Kusile power stations returned to service on at the weekend.
Last week Eskom announced plans to purchase 1 000MW of capacity from providers who generate more than 1MW of electricity. The utility said it hoped to sign agreements as soon as last week but we suspect it will take some time before that power reaches the grid and helps alleviate loadshedding.
[Image – Jennefer Zacarias on Unsplash]
