Year: 2023

Unfortunately, it looks like you’ll have to be prepared for more of it this coming weekend, as Eskom will continue with load shedding at high stages. What We Know So Far According to a recent statement from Eskom, load shedding will range between stage 3 and stage 4 over the weekend, book-ended by stage 5 […]

Pick n Pay chairman, Gareth Ackerman, has denounced South Africa’s government’s apparent reluctance to fix the ongoing energy crisis. The cost of food prices skyrocketed in April, with food inflation at its peak since 2007. Rising irrigation and additional expenditure on diesel are among the drivers, as retailers risk spoilage if they do not have […]

The National Rationalisation Specifications (NRS) association, responsible for deciding codes of practice for municipalities’ response to load shedding, is close to completing an update that will cover load shedding beyond Stage 8. These codes regulate how municipalities must respond to instructions from Eskom’s National Control Centre or System Operator, when it advises how much load […]

Suburbs with the best solar generation potential in South Africa have been revealed by a Standard Bank and Riskscape platform, LookSee. As winter approaches and higher stages of load-shedding loom, it is important for homeowners to explore renewable energy solutions and this platform provides useful information and services including the Solar Score system. This generates […]

Eskom, the South African power utility company, has released an updated schedule for load shedding this week. The plan will see the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding, which will continue daily from 4 pm to 5 am until Friday while various stages will be implemented during the day. The breakdowns remain persistently high, with […]

The load shedding crisis in South Africa has taken another turn, as Jan Oberholzer, the former Eskom Chief Operations Officer (COO), has decided to stay on and oversee new projects at the embattled power company. According to reports from EE Business Intelligence, Oberholzer will not resume his former role as COO but will be tasked […]

In a press conference held yesterday, the Minister of Minerals and Energy, Gwede Mantashe, denied any conflict of interest with Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. The press conference comes in the wake of rumors circulating about an alleged rift between the two over their respective departments’ responsibilities with regards to the current energy crisis in […]

Energy experts are raising concern about Eskom’s coal fleet Energy Availability Factor (EAF) hovering at around 50%. This means that only half of the available power is being generated by the giant utility firm, and this could lead to higher stages of load shedding this winter. Lungile Mashele, an energy economist, has explained that the […]

South African energy minister Gwede Mantashe has placed blame on the private sector for the ongoing load-shedding crisis, rather than acknowledging any wrongdoing by the ruling party. Mantashe claimed in an interview with radio station 702 that a lack of interest from private sector investment in new power plants was to blame for the crisis. […]

Load shedding, the process through which the power utility Eskom deliberately switches off electricity supply to prevent the grid from collapsing, has been increased to stage 6 this week. Eskom had previously announced that stage 3 load shedding would continue until 5:00 am on Tuesday, however due to “delayed return to service” of several generating […]