Stage 6 load shedding and the traffic light downward spiral

Eskom said Stage 6 load shedding would remain in effect until further notice as the power utility battles to return some broken-down units back to service.

The utility said ten generating units have been taken offline since Thursday placing more strain on the remaining system.

Five units, taken offline due to boiler tube leaks have cut generation supply, leaving some of the units delayed in returning to service after maintenance.

It’s a little mess, that’s receiving the necessary attention as parts of the country remain on rotation for prolonged bouts of blackouts.

It seems with every crisis comes opportunity as in this case, criminals have as a result of recurring blackouts synchronized their looting to the no-power hours.

One of South African’s biggest cities, the City of Ekurhuleni has pulled the handbrake on replacing damaged traffic lights due to rampant theft and vandalism in certain areas.

The issue was flagged around last year highlighting the high costs of replacing traffic lights that were damaged through avoidable human actions in the form of vehicle accidents, theft, or vandalism.

The massive costs were around R 120 million, as reported in the previous financial year that ended June 2022.

This led to a hard decision to replace would-be repairs with stops signs due to limited funds.

While the decision for stop signs is thought to be a temporary one, there may be the harsh reality that more stop signs may be seen long term.

The issue of traffic lights remaining off has raised frustrations with municipalities responding with measures for motorists to report faulty traffic signals in order for them to be attended to.

The Gauteng department through an initiative called #smartmobility campaign was roped in to assist with the monitoring and maintaining of traffic signals potholes and other defects that require urgent attention around Gauteng.

This solution appears to be losing ground as a drive outside Gauteng finds more and more traffic lights assuming the role of a stop sign.

Could this be a result of load shedding or something greater in need of attention?

Eskom currently has around 13 generating units that are currently offline. There’s currently under 17, 800MW of generating capacity out due to breakdowns with a further 6, 650MW offline for maintenance.

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