Eskom crisis spirals: stage-4 power cuts this weekend

Eskom will implement severe load shedding – at stage 4 – from 11am on Friday to conserve its emergency reserves as some of its workers, striking illegally, blockade its power stations.

The stage-4 load shedding will continue until at least midnight on Friday, Eskom said in a statement. It will also be implemented over the weekend, even though demand will be lower.

“Due to the ongoing unprotected labour action, Eskom is compelled to take precautionary actions to conserve emergency generation reserves. On Saturday and Sunday, stage-4 load shedding will be implemented from 5am until midnight,” it said.

“It is necessary to bolster emergency generation reserves to react to unforeseen circumstances, as well as to replenish emergency reserves to prepare for the week ahead. This will help fill the generation deficit while dealing with generating units that may trip amid the disturbances and compensate for the inability to return generating units timeously to service,” the company added.

“While exploring possible solutions to unlock the deadlock with the unions, Eskom appeals to its labour partners and striking employees to embrace the higher purpose of putting the people of South Africa first, respect the law and to desist from illegal and undemocratic conduct.”

Unplanned breakdowns at Eskom are at 17.4GW, which is far higher than it has been in recent weeks. Planned maintenance is at 2.8GW of capacity, meaning more than 20GW of Eskom’s generating capacity is currently unavailable to the grid.  – © 2022 NewsCentral Media

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