Think that load-shedding will only be a mild irritation this winter? Think again. South Africans could spend 85 to 100% of their winter days under rolling blackouts.
Eskom’s head of transmission Segomoco Scheppers last week said the worst-case scenario would see the power utility shed power on 104 days in winter. Previously, he said Eskom expected between 37 and 101 days of load-shedding during the period.
According to the SA Weather Service, there are “no firm grounds for choosing one set of dates rather than another for the starting dates of the seasons” and an official calendar of seasons does not exist. However, it recommends following the traditional dates of June 1 to August 31.
That would be 91 days of winter.
So unless Eskom means we are going to spend every day in winter under load-shedding, and then some, we need to expand the definition of winter.
One study suggests by May 1 three-quarters of the country is in late autumn or winter. Adding this to the traditional season dates would give us 122 days of winter.
That would mean more than 85% of our winter days would have load-shedding.
So far all but three days in May have had load-shedding.
According to Eskom, by May 10 there had been 32 days of load-shedding so far this year. This is six days more than in the same period last year.
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We could spend 85% to 100% of our winter days under load-shedding
Image: SIPHIWE SIBEKO/Reuters
Think that load-shedding will only be a mild irritation this winter? Think again. South Africans could spend 85 to 100% of their winter days under rolling blackouts.
Eskom’s head of transmission Segomoco Scheppers last week said the worst-case scenario would see the power utility shed power on 104 days in winter. Previously, he said Eskom expected between 37 and 101 days of load-shedding during the period.
According to the SA Weather Service, there are “no firm grounds for choosing one set of dates rather than another for the starting dates of the seasons” and an official calendar of seasons does not exist. However, it recommends following the traditional dates of June 1 to August 31.
That would be 91 days of winter.
So unless Eskom means we are going to spend every day in winter under load-shedding, and then some, we need to expand the definition of winter.
One study suggests by May 1 three-quarters of the country is in late autumn or winter. Adding this to the traditional season dates would give us 122 days of winter.
That would mean more than 85% of our winter days would have load-shedding.
So far all but three days in May have had load-shedding.
According to Eskom, by May 10 there had been 32 days of load-shedding so far this year. This is six days more than in the same period last year.
Support independent journalism by subscribing to the Sunday Times. Just R20 for the first month.
READ MORE:
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