No load-shedding scheduled yet

MBOMBELA – According to the the local municipality, residents will most likely not experience load-shedding this weekend, but Eskom still urgently needs its consumers to use electricity sparingly. Stage one was implemented in other parts of the country on Monday due to high demand and the unavailability of some of its generating units.

The current energy challenges have put Eskom’s renewable energy independent power-producer-procurement programme in the spotlight again. The first unit of the Medupi power station was closed due to synchronisation earlier this month. The only step necessary was to clean the boiler and associated pipework from all scale, welding residue and contaminants, arising from the construction process. Initially, cleaning is done by means of chemical flushing, which removes all major contaminants as well as any foreign objects, but this is followed by a process known as “steam blow-through”. Specific steam flow conditions are prescribed to achieve a minimum velocity and disturbance factors inside the various elements of the boiler. In principle, steam is generated by the boiler itself, operating with lower-than-normal temperatures and pressures, and with fans and some coal burners fully functional. The steam is delivered in short blasts, typically for 10 to 20 minutes at a time. To date a number of steam blows have been performed. Once the steam flow and disturbance factors reach optimum levels, cleanliness of the steam is determined by measuring the number of microscopic impacts on steel plates, placed into the path of the steam exhaust.

Eskom has previously indicated that while the commissioning process towards the synchronisation is at an advanced stage, each of the remaining steps requires critical assessment of the inherent risks to both safety of people and the equipment integrity before proceeding to the next stage.

There are fears of unforeseen incidents at the power stations which might lead to a national blackout. According to Eskom, the whole reason load-shedding is implemented, is to prevent such an eventuality. It has also warned that without additional funding to buy diesel, load-shedding will be continuous and ongoing because the utility won’t be able to operate its open-gas turbines. It also said it would run out of money for diesel by the middle of next month and was waiting for feedback from government on whether it would receive funds to keep the lights on.

For the present, it calls on all its consumers to use electricity sparingly.