Eskom has announced stage 6 loadshedding on Wednesday afternoon until Thursday. This, according to the struggling power utility, is due to higher than anticipated demand. Eskom had earlier 0n Wednesday announced stage 5 loadshedding starting from 5am and it was extended to stage 6 in the afternoon. This comes just days after the country experienced minimum stages of loadshedding over the long Easter holidays. The rolling blackouts started this morning at 5am. 

STAGE 6 IMPLEMENTATION

In a statement, Eskom said it was implementing stage 6 sue to shortage of generation capacity. "Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented at 4pm this afternoon until 05:00 on Thursday, thereafter stage 5 will implemented until 16:00 in the afternoon on Thursday. Breakdowns are currently at 16 772 MW of generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance and has been reduced to 5 807 MW. Eskom further said that over the 24 hours two generating units were returned to service at Kriel Power Station. "In the same period a generating unit at Duvha power station was taken offline for repairs. The delays in returning a unit to service at Camden, Kendal, Lethabo and Tutuka power stations have contributed to the capacity constraints. Similarly the increase in demand after a long weekend and reopening of the school has put additional strain on the power generating system," the statement reads.

GRID CONSTRAINED 

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa  has warned of a dark and cold winter as the electrical grid remains constrained. He said Eskom faces a shortfall of 8,000 to 10,000 megawatts in winter, which equates to stage 10 load-shedding. Ramokgopa was speaking during his visit in Pretoria East, where electricity pylons collapsed causing blackouts in most parts of Tshwane on Monday and Tuesday. The Minister had also explained that Eskom's energy availability factor (EAF) averages 53%, resulting in a significant gap between generation capacity and electricity demand. Ramakgopa was quoted saying that the unpredictability of the country's fragile grid, coupled with high demand was undermining Eskom's ability to provide a consistent supply of energy. 

EFFORTS MADE TO AVOID DISASTER 

He said that efforts were being made to avoid a "worst-case scenario' by ensuring that the power outages did not surpass stage 6. "I will be brutally honest with you; it's going to be an exceptionally difficult winter. We know that in summer conditions, the deficit is 6,000 megawatts. When we go into winter, the peak can go up to 37,000 megawatts. But at the current rate of trips and failures, it's going to be an exceptionally difficult winter." he said. Ramokgopa added that the ailing power utility is doing everything possible to avoid going beyond stage 6. 

HOUSEHOLDS URGED TO REDUCE ELECTRICITY USAGE 

As winter approaches, Ramokgopa has urged South African households and businesses to drastically reduce their electricity usage. "The biggest problem that is confronting us is the unreliability of the generation units. You can see that within the space of less than 48 hours, we move from no load shedding to stage five. There's a lot we can do to bring down demand without compromising our ability to meet our daily requirements as we go about life," he said.