BRICS, Stage 6 load shedding and the broken chain

President Cyril Ramaphosa has urged the country to welcome the much needed efforts from Eskom to impose stage 6 in power cuts in order to be rewarded in the long run.

The sentiments have been echoed by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa who following the upshot to Stage 6 load shedding this week pointed to necessity as a reason.

Planned maintenance was attributed to the current bout of no power from Eskom while unplanned breakdowns mushroomed unexpectedly.

Power outages remain at stage six with a decline only expected at the weeks end.

Eskom has noted headway in terms of servicing shortfalls confirming that storage reserves will likely be recovered to allow lower stages of load shedding come weekend.

The cause

A chain-carrying ash malfunctioned underneath a boiler at the Medupi unit on Monday morning which resulted in unexpected maintenance.

The Matla unit also saw breakdowns which needed technicians to wait for the unit to cool before intervening with repairs.

When demand exceeds generation, there will be load shedding, according to Eskom which disputed claims of lessoned load shedding during the BRICS summit in August.

While Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa cites ramped-up maintenance as the reason for longer periods without power, it seems the country does seem unsettled by the reality that load shedding has been at its worst in 2023 than any other year.

South Africa has experienced more power outages than in previous years, which translates to a crippling balance sheet for businesses.

Stage 6 load shedding continues until further notice.

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