• In its latest Power Alert, Eskom says it will continue to implement a mix of Stage 3 and Stage 4 loadshedding until further notice.
• The reason for the changes are the result of increased demand as the temperature drops across the country, along with decreased generating capacity.
• Eskom is now looking to preserve energy reserves, but the situation could still worsen.

For more than a month, Eskom implemented a strategy of only having loadshedding in the evenings, kicking in across the country from 16:00 until midnight with power cuts suspended for most of the day. This week’s drop in temperature, increased demand, and a loss of generating capacity means that plan has had to change.

To that end, Eskom implemented Stage 2 and Stage 4 loadshedding earlier in the week, but that has since had to be increased. This as Eskom has issued a new Power Alert advising that Stage 4 loadshedding will continue until 5:00 tomorrow morning, with a mix of Stage 3 and Stage 4 taking effect until further notice.

According to the power utility, the reason for the change is due a continued reduction in generation capacity, along with increased demand from citizens, the latter of which has been the result of freezing temperatures being experienced on the highveld.

Eskom adds that it has had to extensively use its Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) in order to cope with the increased demand, but the situation has been exacerbated by an increase of 16 313MW of breakdowns, as well as 3 478MW being taken offline for maintenance.

Unsurprisingly, the power utility has urged citizens to use electricity sparingly, but given how cold the nights are currently, it is not a tenable request.

As always, to keep up to date on all announcements from Eskom, along with the loadshedding schedule in your suburb, download the EskomSePush app.

[Image – Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash]