Eskom, stage 6, and the struggle to get things Ruyter

Eskom shifted from stage 4 load shedding to an unpleasant stage 6 on Friday morning.

The national buckling power utility has shifted to stage 6 in an attempt to keep power from reaching critical levels.

In a statement, Eskom said load shedding would be implemented from 08:30 until further notice.

The increase in stage load shedding was due to the failure of 8 generating units overnight and the excessive reliance on open-cycle gas turbines, including storage generation.

Pumped storage generation is rapidly depleting reserves Eskom said.

As per usual Eskom said an update would be provided once it has more information to communicate.

The country has been coasting between stage 4 and 6 this week, with stage 6 implemented on Friday morning.

The country is likely to keep the lights off going into the last week of December.

Prolonged power outages including buckling infrastructure are some of the reasons the power utility seems to battle sailing to issueless territory.

This week, Eskom outgoing CEO André de Ruyter spoke on how he was disappointed he failed to meet his objectives to turn the struggling power utility around.

Speaking at a press briefing on December 15 – on his resignation, De Ruyter said the country was most likely to experience prolonged levels of load shedding for the foreseeable future.

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