With most economic activities now back to full operations amid Lockdown Level-3, South Africans can start experiencing load shedding in some parts of the country. This is due to the high demand for power and constraints in the power system.
Addressing members of parliament Deputy president David Mabuza has raised concerns over illegal connections that consume power without returns sighting that these are some of the contributing factors to the expected disruptions. Eskom is one of the embattled entities in the country owing Billions in debts and some municipalities still owing Eskom for power supply. He said another focus on the power utility was the completion of the new unit that will deliver additional energy capacity and fast-tracking the emergency procurement of additional energy generation through independent power producers.
Four Units have unexpectedly collapsed causing heavy loads to the remaining powerplants supplying power. The breakdowns happened to a unit at Kendal, Majuba, and Lethabo power stations. A unit at Duvha and Tutuka power stations had also not returned to service as expected, it said. In addition, a further Kendal unit was taken off due to technical difficulties and to address emissions, said Eskom.
However, Eskom has vowed to keep the lights on during this season where the demand for power is high due to the frequent usage of geysers, heaters, and all appliances that keep South Africans warm. On an online briefing hosted by the South African National Energy Association(SANEA) Eskom’s CEO, Andrea De Ruyter said even though South Africa’s power system remained unpredictable the utility was planing at avoiding power cuts during this cold season.
Eskom was one of the embattled state-owned entities that were excluded from the emergency supplementary budget that was delivered by Finance Minister Tito Mboweni.
