The reality of load-shedding is back and, according to Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer, here to stay as we head into summer.

Oberholzer spoke in a media briefing this morning and explained sporadic load-shedding will be implemented in the coming months as Eskom ramps up their maintenance work.

“The system is constantly monitored and load-shedding stages will be eased as soon as it is allowed. A reminder that load-shedding remains our last resort and is only implemented to protect the integrity of the national grid.”

Oberholzer addressed public outcry in regards to why load-shedding is still experienced despite interventions by President Cyril Ramaphosa. He explained that although plans have been put in place, he does not believe that there will be any fruition that come from these plans for the next 12 months.

“There is not a balance between demand and supply and thus reliability maintenance needs to be done. It is critical that we add generation capacity to the system and we are doing what we can to do this. From our side, maintenance work is not yielding the desired results due to the quality and standard of our work. This is in my opinion because we lack certain skills,” he added.

Oberholzer confirmed that Stage 3 load-shedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Tuesday. Stage 2 load-shedding will then be implemented until Friday. “The stages might, however, change if there are any unforeseen breakdowns in the system,” he explained.

#POWERALERT1

Loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Monday, and reduce to Stage 2 at 05:00
on Tuesday, where it will remain until Friday pic.twitter.com/GPktfamwKj

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 11, 2022