What happens at stage 15 Eskom load shedding?

Stage 15 load shedding, means your car will be trapped behind that remote-operated heavy garage door with that backup power system under severe constraints – if it still works.

Eskom’s CEO Andre De Ruyter while speaking at the Africa Renewables Investment Summit in Cape Town reportedly touched on a Stage 15 level.

While De Ruyter was not entirely focused on discussing Stage 15, but rather questioning what it looked like.

The question itself, may become a reality should our current recurring blackouts continue to not meet a trajectory shifting solution.

De Ruyter allegedly mentioned how a Stage 15 would result in major job losses while current coal power stations did not meet the minimum emissions standards.

Eskom was fast nearing a difficult precipice, a R300 billion bailout to give current infrastructure a facelift to meet emission standards or to decommission them.

While De Ruyter may not know what Stage 15 would look like, should the power utility not find a plan b for the country’s grid supply, Stage 15 may fast become a dreaded reality.

So what does it look like?

Aside from your car being stuck in your garage, no mobile reception (in certain areas), there will most likely be a lengthy and costly power outage.

For Eskom to recover from the major disaster of a total grid collapse would cost billions.

Eskom load shedding stages

The country would be without power for weeks, since Stage 4 means 12 outages each lasting two hours over a period of four days.

Stage 6,7 means two power outages each at four hours, with Stage 8 meaning six power outages or more likely 12 hours of no electricity.

Stage 15, would mean a completely dire situation where companies would loose money, company production would be crippled with many industries shifting to life support.

Eskom wants a 32% price increase in tariffs, with hopes of sailing past the severe crisis of escalating load shedding.

There’s currently no end in sight for rolling blackouts, with Eskom looking at alternative energy sources, to remedy critical capacity.

Increased tariff hikes while 20% of the country is in darkness at Stage 4 load shedding seems like grasping at straws, when buckling power stations need maintenance and continue to heave under current pressure.

She broke it down so beautifully these criminals at eskom are robbing us pic.twitter.com/KpRmHDVAGP

— Ghostlady  (@ghostladysa) September 28, 2022

Also read: WATCH: It’s not an electricity crisis, says energy minister Gwede Mantashe