- At 10:00 on Wednesday loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 1 thanks to improved generation capacity.
- However, this reduced stage will only be in effect until 14:00 and then Stage 2 will be in effect until further notice.
- With load limiting being implement in more areas and reduced loadshedding stages, the energy crisis appears to be turning a corner.
Sometimes we are left scratching our heads at the decisions Eskom makes when it comes to loadshedding. Case in point, an announcement on Wednesday morning.
The power utility announced earlier today that from 10:00, loadshedding would be reduced to Stage 1. While this is welcome news, this lower stage of power cuts will only be in place for five hours. At 14:00, loadshedding will move to Stage 2 “until further notice”.
This week loadshedding has cycled between Stage 2 between 05:00 and 16:00 with a move to Stage 3 after hours. The move to permanent Stage 2 should help reduce the frequency of power cuts, depending on where you live.
The power utility has been working to return generating units to service while also improving its reserves should demand spike upwards. On Monday, the utility said its availability sat at 27 335MW with the national consumption sitting at 27 452MW.
While that is still a shortfall, it’s far less extreme than what we’ve seen in the past. In fact, one might even be able to argue that the energy crisis is becoming less of a crisis. Eskom’s plans to implement load limiting rather than outright power cuts is great news and allows folks to use a fan during a heatwave or keep lights on at night instead of being plunged into darkness for two to four hours at a time.
Last week load limiting was said to be coming to Buccleuch, Kelvin, Paulshof, Marlboro, Sunninghill, and Waterfall following a successful test in Fourways.
The utility is also said to be meeting with residents of Kyalami this week to discuss implementing load limiting in the area. As background, load limiting asks customers to reduce their demand by switching off power hungry appliances so that lights and other essential electronics can remain powered.
We highly recommend keeping an eye out for further updates from Eskom as to the stages of loadshedding.
[Image – CHUTTERSNAP on Unsplash]
