Eskom announces Stage 2 load shedding, citing ‘higher-than-expected' demand
Eskom announced that it would implement Stage 2 load shedding from 4pm on Thursday, 24 April, until at least 5am on Friday.
The utility said 'higher-than-expected' electricity demand, 'extensive' planned maintenance and 'the loss of generation units' were the proximal causes for this most recent bout of rotational power cuts.
Daily Maverick has previously reported that Eskom last implemented Stage 2 load shedding on Wednesday night, 19 March.
In February, Eskom CEO Dan Marokane told Parliament's Standing Committee on Public Accounts that the utility would need to meet its targeted goal for reliability and additional generation capacity before declaring that load shedding was permanently over.
He was echoing the sentiments of Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, who has stressed that Eskom's fleet is undergoing a period of deep, sustained maintenance, which will have the effect of reducing the available capacity at any one time, but will be in the utility's long-term interest.
Should there be an unplanned loss of generation capacity or 'higher-than-expected' electricity demand, as was the case on Thursday, Eskom would be forced to implement load shedding to protect the national grid, he said.
Marokane said in that meeting that when the utility finished this 'cycle of deep maintenance', Eskom would get back to 'a comfort level that helped us manage the long period of no load shedding'.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena told Daily Maverick on Thursday that the recent inclement and rainy weather in parts of the country was likely to have played an important role in increased electricity demand.
She would not be drawn on details on which power stations were affected by the loss of generation units, citing recent security protocols.
Earlier on Thursday, Eskom attempted to pre-empt the possibility of load shedding, saying, 'With tonight's peak demand (5pm-9pm) approaching, the electricity grid is under strain. We urge everyone to act now by reducing energy use. Please switch off all non-essential appliances; every small action makes a big difference.'
Eskom has doubled down on this message, urging people to reduce their electricity consumption to 'help reduce pressure on the grid'.
Democratic Alliance spokesperson on energy and electricity Kevin Mileham told Daily Maverick on Thursday, 'The return of load shedding highlights the significant constraints on our electricity systems. It also demonstrates that the energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom's fleet is still falling far short of the targets they set for themselves.'
As part of Eskom's generation recovery plan initiated in April 2023, the power utility set a target of 70% EAF. It now hovers at around 55%, a return to a near-identical low seen when the plan was first implemented.
'We need much greater emphasis on the Generation Recovery Plan,' said Mileham, 'as well as much speedier procurement of new generation capacity. Given that Eskom is severely limited financially, that means it would have to come from Independent Power Producers.' DM
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