Lower stages of load-shedding ‘possible’ from Thursday

Eskom provides clarity on current system challenges that have resulted in stage 6 power cuts.

February 20, 2023

Caxton Reporter 1 minute read

Eskom CEO André de Ruyter says that load-shedding might be reduced to stage 4 from Thursday.

He made this announcement during an update on system challenges that have seen power cuts being escalated to stage 6 continuously since last night.

“We had some diesel constraints over the weekend at one of our plants, but this issue has been resolved. Our pumping [capabilities] have been impacted by [continuous] rainfall,” he added.

De Ruyter said Treasury will ‘stand behind loans’ being taken out to fund the buying of diesel.

“The plan is to reduce load-shedding to stage 4 by Thursday morning, and then stage 3 by the weekend,” he added.

Arrests made

Asked if SANDF soldiers have made any arrests since they were deployed at several power stations, De Ruyter said the military has no ‘power of arrests’ but that SAPS have nabbed several suspects.

“I think the last tally I received was 48 arrests of people actively involved in various activities, especially in Mpumalanga – in particular coal theft. We are pleased to see significant progress in the fight against crime and corruption and we are not as vulnerable as we used to be,” he answered.

De Ruyter added that the police ‘still need to get behind the crime syndicates’, but they are happy with the progress.

Total system blackout

Asked whether the possibility of a total system blackout is high, De Ruyter reassured the media there is only a ‘very low chance’ of a total system collapse.

“[This is due to] tools such as load-shedding and other tools to manage demand in areas where there are high demands. We have contingency plans in place if any further losses do occur, but do not anticipate that there is a risk to go beyond stage 8 at this stage.”

He added that they are ‘doing everything in our power’ not to let load-shedding go beyond stage 8, but notes that the system lacks reliability and they need to plan for situations worse than that. He did not discuss these details.

Eskom systems operator Isabel Fick noted that the contingency plans are currently being revised.