Eskom plant breakdowns hit 21GW

Eskom will impose stage-6 load shedding – equal to the worst power cuts it has implemented – as unplanned breakdowns in its electricity generation fleet intensify. And worse may be to come.

The state-owned utility said late on Sunday night that it will impose the stage-6 cuts “until further notice”, with 21.2GW of generation capacity unavailable due to the breakdown of eight generation units during the day on Sunday.

“Since Sunday afternoon, a generating unit each at Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo and Majuba, as well as two units at Camden power station have suffered breakdowns and taken offline for repairs,” it said.”

“Further, two generating units at the Lethabo power station were shut down due to coal constraints as the New Vaal Mine that is supplying the station has been unable to deliver the expected amount of coal during the past week because of heavy rains. The three running units are operating at minimum capacity and are at risk of shutdown should the coal supply constraints not be resolved.”

Read: Eskom to make more land available for private power generation

Despite the severity of the load shedding, Eskom said there is a “possibility of further changes on the stages of load shedding at short notice”.  — (c) 2023 NewsCentral Media

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