Pretoria – Eskom will continue with stage 3 load shedding until Tuesday 5am and thereafter it will go on stage 6 from 4pm until Wednesday 5am, before introducing various stages.
The struggling power utility said there are delays in returning nine generating units to service contributed to the current capacity constraints
“Breakdowns are currently at 17 920MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 3 412MW.
“The team is working around the clock to ensure that generating units are returned to service as soon as possible,” Eskom said in a statement.
The utility has thanked the South Africans who heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently in helping to alleviate the pressure on the power system, as this is assisting in avoiding higher stages of load shedding.
Meanwhile, Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says the stages of load shedding could be reduced significantly if Eskom’s poor performing power stations could be jacked-up.
He said coal-fired power stations were the backbone of Eskom and electricity generation, but some of them have not been performing well.
If the government was to intervene and improve their performance the country would experience less severe stages of power cuts.
Ramokgopa said if the three units at Kusile were not taken out of service in 2021, the situation may not be as severe.
But those units will be brought on line by December.
“If these units at Kusile did not suffer the catastrophic failure, the Eskom board’s approved strategy of 60% energy availability factor by 2023 would have been achieved. But we are confident we will achieve that 60% energy availability factor,” said Ramokgopa.
IOL