Eskom Plunges South Africa into Loadshedding Until Wednesday

Eskom has ‘regretfully’ implemented Stage 2 load shedding – ie. power cuts – in South Africa from 16:00 this afternoon (Easter Sunday) until 05:00 on Wednesday, 20 April, as a result of additional generation unit losses and delayed return to service of generators. The power utility cautioned that higher stages of loadshedding may be required.

Eskom apologised, and said it would continue the loadshedding until Wednesday, depending on the level of breakdowns. The power utility said load-shedding is implemented “only as a last resort to protect the national grid”.

Why is Eskom loadshedding today?

Eskom said it has suffered the loss of four additional generation units at Matla, Tutuka, Duvha and Arnot power stations over the past 24 hours, exacerbated by the delay in units returning to service at Camden, Matla, Grootvlei and Tutuka power stations. These losses and delays have “unfortunately” led to the loadshedding, Eskom said.

“The power system continues to be fragile and Eskom is forced to implement loadshedding to manage and replenish emergency generation reserves, on which it has been relying to supply electricity this week.

“Since Friday afternoon, a generation unit each at Camden, Komati and Arnot power stations returned to service.

“We currently have 5 474MW on planned maintenance, while another 17 018MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned breakdowns.

“The power system remains unpredictable, and Eskom would like to inform the public that any further deterioration in generation capacity may require higher stages of loadshedding. We therefore request the public to continue using electricity sparingly, as we strive to return units to service,” said Eskom in a statement on Sunday afternoon.