Eskom can make no promises on load shedding

Residents were once again left in the dark, when Eskom implemented stage three load shedding over the weekend.

It is reported the reason behind it was an extremely constrained national power grid.

This was due to unforeseen technical problems at power stations, depleted water reserves and logistical issues relating to diesel supplies at our peaking power stations.

The change from stage two to three followed the shutdown of two open cycle gas turbine power station which use diesel to generate electricity.

The diesel reserves had been depleted at the Gourikwa and Ankerlig gas turbines leading to the shutdown of the power stations.

The Drakensburg and Palmiet pumped storage schemes, which use water to generate electricity, also had to reduced output as a result of depleted water reserves.

A further 1 000MW of capacity went offline on Friday after three coal powered units tripped last night due to technical faults.

Eskom hoped that by implementing load shedding this weekend would allow the company to build up reserves for the week ahead.

Consumers can help alleviate pressure from the system by reducing their electricity usage as much as they can.

Eskom has also asked major customers to contribute by reducing their usage by 10%.

“Our objective for load shedding is to fill the pumped storage dams, fill diesel tanks and undertake essential maintenance.

“Our aspiration after that is to avoid load shedding if at all possible until mid-January,”  said Chief Executive Tshediso Matona.

“Unfortunately we cannot guarantee this but we will put in every effort over the festive season to avoid interruptions,” he concluded.