Nel said teams from the energy and electricity department and the regional operations and co-ordination department were working to restore power outages caused by load-shedding.
“Load-shedding switching [switching the electricity supply to the grid off and on] happens up to three times a day, but the most damage occurs when the electricity is restored and all the geysers, pumps, stoves start simultaneously. This causes an abnormal surge of electricity that can sometimes go high enough to trip a circuit breaker.”
Mantshantsha said a unit each at Kendal, Duvha, Camden and Kusile power stations tripped overnight.
“Since then we have returned four units to service. However, these units need to ramp up to full output, which necessitates a high usage of emergency generation reserves today [Wednesday].
“This being the fourth day of high diesel usage, the emergency reserves are being depleted faster than can be replenished.”
Stage 4 load-shedding would give the power utility the space required to replenish emergency reserves and continue to manage the system safely.
Total breakdowns amount to 15,439MW while planned maintenance is 5,505MW of capacity.
LISTEN | Eskom implements stage 4 load-shedding, replenishes emergency reserves
Power cuts taking a toll on municipal electrical infrastructure
Eskom has implemented stage 4 load-shedding until Friday, compounding the woes of commuters having to navigate rainy conditions and flooded roads in Gauteng.
“It is with a great deal of disappointment that Eskom has to inform the public that further failures overnight of generation units necessitated the implementation of stage 4 load-shedding starting at 9am,” said Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.
This will be in force until 5am on Friday.
Load-shedding will then be lowered to stage 2 until Monday morning.
The City of Tshwane warned on Wednesday that continued load-shedding was severely affecting its electricity infrastructure.
“The City of Tshwane’s infrastructure is facing challenges caused by Eskom’s implementation of load-shedding, particularly the tripping of electricity grids and surges due to overloading when load-shedding ends. This has been made worse by the wet weather, making electrical work difficult,” said utility services MMC Phillip Nel.
During an update on Wednesday morning, the state-owned power utility cautioned that it may have to implement stage 6 load-shedding if its emergency reserves of diesel and water were depleted.
Nel said teams from the energy and electricity department and the regional operations and co-ordination department were working to restore power outages caused by load-shedding.
“Load-shedding switching [switching the electricity supply to the grid off and on] happens up to three times a day, but the most damage occurs when the electricity is restored and all the geysers, pumps, stoves start simultaneously. This causes an abnormal surge of electricity that can sometimes go high enough to trip a circuit breaker.”
Mantshantsha said a unit each at Kendal, Duvha, Camden and Kusile power stations tripped overnight.
“Since then we have returned four units to service. However, these units need to ramp up to full output, which necessitates a high usage of emergency generation reserves today [Wednesday].
“This being the fourth day of high diesel usage, the emergency reserves are being depleted faster than can be replenished.”
Stage 4 load-shedding would give the power utility the space required to replenish emergency reserves and continue to manage the system safely.
Total breakdowns amount to 15,439MW while planned maintenance is 5,505MW of capacity.
Eskom appealed to the public to help it limit the impact of load-shedding by switching off non-essential items.
The City of Tshwane called on residents to help limit the negative effects by switching off rotating machines, heaters and geysers before the planned reconnection time.
“When the electricity is restored, wait a few minutes before boiling the kettle and resuming cooking. Switch geysers, pumps on after the electricity supply has stabilised.”
Nel said negative effects of load-shedding can be minimised by switching off circuit breakers, excluding lights, during power outages.
“The lights will confirm when the electricity is restored and other circuits can then be switched on gradually after the electricity supply is stable. This will protect electronic household equipment. It is important that we work together to protect our electricity infrastructure and prevent load-shedding,” said Nel.
“To protect and ensure the integrity of the electrical system, proactive implementation of load-shedding is required,” Eskom COO Jan Oberholzer told a media briefing.
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