Load-shedding returns for the weekend after 10-month respite

Eskom announced that stage 3 load-shedding will start at 5pm on Friday and is expected to last the weekend as the power utility seeks to return a number of units to service.

South Africa has been without scheduled power cuts for about 10 months, with structural improvements in the generation fleet and improved maintenance.

Briefing the media on Friday afternoon, electricity and energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Eskom had a setback at the beginning of the week and it was hit by a “perfect storm”. 

“We had units out for planned maintenance and then there were unit failures at Matimba and Lethabo power stations For most of the week we had to rely on the open-cycle gas turbines. We had to rely on diesel. We exhausted our reserves,” Ramokgopa said. 

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said the objective of the load-shedding was to build reserves the power utility relied on during the week.

“The reliance on reserves was occasioned by the failure of units which are expected to come back into service at the weekend and the beginning of next week,” he said.

Eskom head of generation Bheki Nxumalo said a total of six units in Matimba and Lethabo were out of service. He said three units were out because of boiler tube failures.

The first unit in Lethabo is expected to return on Saturday and he expected others to return either on Monday or Tuesday.

Nxumalo said at Matimba, one unit returned to service on Friday with other units expected to return in the next few days. Eskom lost 3,600MW because of the failure of the units in the two power stations.

Units at Kendal and Kriel, which were out on planned maintenance, are expected to return at the weekend.

Ramokgopa said this was a temporary setback. He said Eskom had done everything possible to avoid load-shedding.

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