Cape Town — South African power utility Eskom has blamed the recent heatwaves across the country for the increase in loadshedding stages.
Minister of Electricity, Kgotientsho Ramokgopa, issued an apology to the nation after Eskom announced it will implement stage 6 loadshedding for the upcoming weekend, calling it extreme and extraordinary, as reported by EWN.
Ramokgopa said the implementation of stage 6 was due to Eskom’s depleting emergency reserves, and that faults at major units have led to Eskom using reserves to power the grid.
“We had overcommitted our reserves. So, for purposes of protecting the grid, we need to ensure that we continue to protect the reserves,” Ramokgopa said.
Loadshedding will be increased to Stage 6 from 12:00 until 05:00 on Monday. pic.twitter.com/bxMYagj0Jb
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 24, 2023
Eskom also said the rising temperatures across the country has led to stage 6 being implemented. The South African Weather Services (SAWS) confirmed that five out of the nine provinces would be facing heatwaves this weekend.
According to Eskom head of generation, Bheki Nxumalo, the heatwave, with an increased demand for air conditioning and fans, could be blamed for the load shedding at Stage 6 level, IOL reported.
“The increase in demand today can be attributed to the heatwave we are experiencing because we suspect it is coming from the air conditioning,” he said.
“The main impact is at Matimba, and at some of the stations there are impacts on condensers, but the bigger impact is at Matimba,” he added.
Nxumalo also said generating unit losses at Majuba, Lethabo, and Tutuka power stations were not an indication of maitenance backlogs, but instead an issue of boiler tube leaks.
“If you look at the boiler tube leaks, it’s not because of the maintenance backlog; even when you have the boiler, you can’t work on every boiler tube,” he said.
Ramokgopa said they were looking forward to a number of units returning in December, which would provide a much-needed buffer.
Evening Peak 23/11/2023 (19:17)
Eskom Availability: 26 560 MW.
Total Demand: 29 218 MW❗
Loadshedding: 4 000 MW
———————————–
-Number of OCGT’s Utilised: 15 -Renewable Gen: 2 424 MW
-RES: Wind 1804 MW, CSP 319MW, PV 301MW
-IPP Availability(Dispatchable):…— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 24, 2023
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
