Loadshedding.com
Surprising Shift in Schedule
Well, things took a swift turn! Not 24 hours after Eskom presented its weekly game plan, the power giant finds itself in a pickle. Instead of the expected back-and-forth between stages 2, 3, and 4 of load shedding, Eskom dropped the bombshell: Stage 4 load shedding is here to stay, starting from noon, 11 September. The “for how long?” remains a cliffhanger.
The Culprits Behind the Change
- Power Station Woes: Glitches at Arnot, Duvha, and Grootvlei are the primary culprits.
- Delayed Returns: Several generating units are taking their sweet time getting back on track.
And while we hold our breath for another update, we’re reminded of the ghost of power past – the gloomy stage 6 outages from last week.
Electricity Minister Weighs In
At Sunday’s presser, Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa gave us the lowdown. The recent power conundrum boils down to a challenging trio:
- Skyrocketing and unpredictable demand.
- A slew of Eskom outages.
- A post-winter surge in planned maintenance.
However, it’s not all doom and gloom. Ramokgopa remains hopeful, citing the impending relief with Kusile Power Station’s enhanced capacity set to light up the grid soon. But, and it’s a big but, he cautioned about the grid’s fragility in the upcoming months.
“If (planned maintenance) coincides with a number of units failing on their own, then you are exposed. And the only option available to us is intensified load shedding,” Ramokgopa revealed.
The message was clear: Eskom and the government will stand their ground on boosting planned maintenance, even if it means short-term hiccups.
“It is a calculated risk. We are going to do this the right way; we are going to fix these units. It’s a short-term pain for long-term gain,” the minister affirmed.
Load Shedding Reporter 
