Eskom Braces for Cold Weather: Load Shedding Update

Shifting Gears in Power: Winter weather is creeping in and Eskom is responding. The power behemoth announced a restructured load shedding game plan, with stages 2 and 3 coming into play to stock up on emergency reserves for the approaching cold snap.

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Here’s the Play-by-Play:

• Today: Starting at 16:00, it’s Stage 2 load shedding. That continues straight through until 16:00 Monday.
• The Week’s Mantra: A blend of Stage 2 and Stage 3 load shedding is on the cards, pivoting daily. Why? Eskom explains:

“After nine days of stellar generation performance and zero load shedding, we’re gearing up for the cold. A spike in electricity demand is on the horizon,” it clarified.

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This Week’s Schedule:

Sunday, 29th October:

• Stage 2: From 16:00 to midnight.

Monday, 30th October:

• Stage 2: Midnight to 05:00, then 05:00 to 16:00.
• Stage 3: 16:00 to midnight.

Tuesday, 31st October:

• Stage 3: Midnight to 05:00.
• Stage 2: 05:00 to 16:00, and back to Stage 3 from 16:00 to midnight.

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Inside the Control Room:

As of now, breakdowns are keeping a whopping 16,150MW out of Eskom’s generating capacity, while another 5,950MW is out for scheduled tune-ups.

In the span of the past day, power generation units at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kusile, and Matimba were put on a brief hiatus for fixes. Meanwhile, the team at Kriel Power Station managed a win, getting one of their units humming again.

Despite these challenges, Eskom’s teams are on the grind:

“Our teams are working round the clock to get additional units back online ASAP,” they assure.

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Demand & Supply: Eskom’s got some big numbers to juggle. Evening peak demand? 24,824MW. By Monday? They’re expecting that to surge to 27,557MW.

Their call to action?

“Please, folks, cut down on usage. Flick off those non-essentials. We truly appreciate it,” they appealed.

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A Thank You Note: Eskom doesn’t forget the good eggs. To everyone powering down geysers and pool pumps especially between 17:00 to 21:00, a hearty thanks. These gestures ease the strain on the grid and lead to milder load shedding.

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Bottom line? As the temperature drops, Eskom’s efforts to keep our lights on heat up. Here’s hoping their plans meet the challenge.