Stage 2 load shedding amid a cold snap

Eskom was forced to implement Stage 2 load shedding just after 6pm on Monday, amid a cold snap that has gripped most of South Africa.

Widespread rains and cold weather have seen a spike in electricity demand, but the struggling state-run power utility also saw breakdowns at four of its power station generating units that further constrained the power grid.

Eskom had no option but to implement shedding after Unit 5 at Medupi Power Station tripped on Monday evening, exacerbating the constrained power supply.

It said in a statement that load shedding would be suspended at 5am on Tuesday, but warned that load shedding could be extended if generation capacity deteriorates.

“Due to a shortage of generation capacity, Eskom regrets to inform the public that Stage 2 load shedding was implemented from 18:12 this evening [Monday] in order to protect the national grid,” it noted.

“Unit 5 of Medupi Power Station tripped this evening, adding to the current supply constraints and reducing available generation capacity by a further 700MW. This, together with four generation unit breakdowns earlier today, necessitated the implementation of load shedding.”

Eskom said it is working hard to return as many of these generation units to service as possible.

“Eskom would like to inform the public that this constrained supply situation will persist throughout the week, with the possibility that more load shedding is likely to be implemented should the generation capacity deteriorate further.”

Breakdowns 

On Monday, one generating unit at Kriel Power Station and two at Camden experienced breakdowns. Furthermore, Eskom said a generating unit at Tutuka has seen a delay in returning to service.

These breakdowns are contributing to the current shortage of capacity.

“The two generation units that had broken down at Matla Power Station have returned to service this evening. These, however, will take some time to reach full generation output,” noted the utility.

Eskom said it currently has 4 804MW on planned maintenance, while another 14 759MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned breakdowns.

“We are managing the emergency generation reserves to limit the stage of load shedding. This overnight load shedding will be used to replenish the dam level at the pump storage power stations in preparation for tomorrow [Tuesday],” it added.

Eskom apologised for the implementation of load shedding, stressing that it is “implemented only as a last resort in order to protect the national grid”.