Update, 9.30am, Monday 9 December: It seems that Stage 2 load shedding is just not enough to prevent a total collapse of the power grid.
Eskom confirmed on Monday morning that Stage 4 load shedding will begin at 10am and last until 11pm.
No ad to show here.
“We regret that due to additional loss of units at our power stations, Stage 2 loadshedding will move to Stage 4 as from 10am to 11pm,” it tweeted.
We regret that due to additional loss of units at our power stations, Stage 2 loadshedding will move to Stage 4 as from 10:00 to 23:00#Loadshedding@News24 @CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @CityofCT @eThekwiniM @CityofJoburgZA @TrafficSA @ewnupdates @SABCNewsOnline
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 9, 2019
The escalation to Stage 4 comes after Eskom announced on Sunday that Stage 2 load shedding would continue throughout Sunday night and all of Monday.
It’s the second time Stage 4’s schedule has been used this month, and allows the utility to free 4000MW of power capacity.
On Sunday it stated that it was down 12 000MW of generating capacity, 2500MW short of what it needs to avoid load shedding.
Original article: Prepare for at least another 26 hours of rolling power cuts, South Africa. Stage 2 load shedding will continue until 11pm on Monday, Eskom announced on Sunday evening.
The ailing power utility lost more power units on Sunday, with 12 000MW unavailable as of 7pm on Sunday.
That’s an 800MW improvement since Friday, but is still some 2500MW more than what is required to alleviate the risk of load shedding.
Date: 08 December 2019
Stage 2 rotational loadshedding will continue overnight and all day on Monday until 23:00 and the risk of loadshedding remains high for the week.@News24 @IOL@TimesLIVE @ewnupdates @SABCNewsOnline @SAfmRadio @POWER987News @ukhozi_fm pic.twitter.com/2lircWf6vi
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 8, 2019
“The additional loss of units today required an increase in the usage of diesel and water at our open cycle gas turbines and pumped storage schemes,” it continued in a statement.
“Regrettably as a result we have been unable to conserve water and diesel as required to stop or to minimised load shedding for the coming week.”
Stage 2 load shedding all day on Monday
Eskom noted that Stage 2 load shedding is required to run until 11pm on Monday to replenish these reserves.
The latest announcement comes after Stage 2 rolling blackouts were first enforced on Thursday.
Eskom then initiated Stage 4 load shedding on Friday, after more power units were lost.
There’s more bad news. The power utility noted that there’s a “high probability” of load shedding until the end of the week.
When is your city or municipality load shedding?
We’ve compiled a list of some schedules for the country’s largest cities and municipalities right here. Be sure to bookmark this little resource.
Feature image: Prateek Gautam via Unsplash
