Share

Load shedding downgraded to stage 1 as problem units return to service

Eskom switched from stage 2 to stage 1 load shedding at 06:00 on Friday morning.

Stage 1 load shedding will continue until 23:00 on Friday evening.

"This is as a result of an improved prognosis for the day as some generating units return to service," Eskom said in a statement. As at 04:00 on Friday morning, unplanned breakdowns at its power stations reached 12,098MW. Eskom blamed "inadequate maintenance over a number of years" for the breakdowns.

On Thursday morning, breakdowns were at 14,000MW.

Anything above 9 500MW means that Eskom has to resort to emergency power generation: open cycle gas turbines and pumped storage hydro electrical plants. These are very expensive ways of generating power, particularly gas turbines as they require large quantities of diesel. They can only be used for short periods before diesel and water reserves run out.

"Our pumped storage schemes have been sufficiently replenished and we continue to work to improve on the levels of diesel at our open cycle gas turbine generators," Eskom said on Friday. "These emergency reserves will be used to supplement generation capacity today."

"Our intention is however to use as little diesel as possible in order to manage our costs. Our diesel generators will therefore only be used in the event of emergencies to back up our other units."

Guide: Find your load shedding schedule

Eskom has not managed to keep unplanned breakdowns at below 9,500MW - the level at which it is forced to consider loadshedding - for a single day since December 4, 2019.

Unexpected bouts of loadshedding in January - a time of low electricity demand - was triggered by the failure of a conveyor belt feeding coal from Exxaro’s Grootegeluk mine to the Medupi power station in Lephalale, Limpopo.

The 7km-long coal conveyor belt is supposed to transport 4,000 tons of coal per hour to Medupi. The belt first started giving problems in October, when the tail-end of the belt suddenly snapped and twisted, with the weight of the coal damaging the machine. 

We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
18.95
-0.3%
Rand - Pound
23.96
-0.3%
Rand - Euro
20.46
+0.0%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.36
-0.0%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.3%
Platinum
911.00
+1.6%
Palladium
1,012.02
+1.0%
Gold
2,214.22
+0.9%
Silver
24.75
+0.4%
Brent-ruolie
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,346
+1.0%
All Share
74,536
+0.9%
Resource 10
57,251
+2.9%
Industrial 25
103,936
+0.6%
Financial 15
16,502
-0.1%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders