By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
State owned power utility Eskom says that it is anticipating lower demand over the coming long weekend, and is thus planning to ease the load shedding schedules over the period.
Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 16h00 on Wednesday until 05h00 on Thursday, as previously planned.
Thereafter various stages will be implemented, ranging between stage 1 and stage 4.
Breakdowns are currently at 16,283MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 5,065MW.
Over the past 24 hours, a generation unit at Kriel Power Station was returned to service.
In the same period, a generating unit each at Camden and Duvha power stations were taken offline for repairs.
The delays in returning a unit to service at Kendal and two units each at Kriel and Tutuka power stations contributed to the current capacity constraints. The team is working around the clock to ensure that generating units are returned to service as soon as possible.
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.
Meanwhile Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe still believes load shedding could be over by the end of the year if emergency power procurement through Karpowership, along with other measures, are taken “seriously”.
The minister said in an interview with Talk Radio 702’s Clement Manyathela on Tuesday morning that by rejecting Karpowership, “Eskom must not pretend to be having electricity when it does not”.
“Load shedding can be attended to effectively and be reduced – almost eliminated if we focus on the right things,” Mantashe said, explaining that these measures involve re-looking at Karpowership, improving the energy availability factor of stations, and importing energy from neighbouring countries.
Manyathela confronted Mantashe with comments by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa that ending load shedding soon was not technically possible.
“He has a responsibility now, I won’t venture into having an argument with him [Ramokgopa]. He works there [with Eskom] now. Technically, it is possible, but he must have insight into other things,” Mantashe responded.
He questioned the logic of rejecting Karpowership if their vessels worked elsewhere, and that ended up helping those countries with their energy needs.
“Now, it is an emergency procurement. It is not [about] generation capacity. We are going to the extreme in giving environmentalists veto power over development.”
Karpowership was among the preferred bidders of the Risk Mitigation Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme, which launched in 2020. Its three projects at SA’s ports were set to provide the bulk or 1 220MW out of the 2 000MW to be procured through the emergency programme. But it has hit several challenges, and its environmental authorisation had been previously denied. There has also been concerns over the emergency deal with Karpowership having a 20-year lifespan.
Mantashe said on Tuesday that the 20-year timeframe was necessary to lower the cost of procuring power from the company.
Mantashe also weighed in on Ramokgopa’s plans for private companies to take over some coal power stations and delay their decommissioning, saying the government should instead keep its stations and invest more into them.
“These power stations belong to the state. There’s this thing [… ] when the state puts money in its assets there is a big topic and headlines. It is actually a misnomer. Everybody, including the private sector – they invest in their assets.”
He said that when the Eskom board told the state in late ’90s, that “there would be an end to the electricity surplus by 2007” and that they needed to build new capacity, the state delayed “because they banked on the private sector taking an interest”.
“If the private sector has the appetite [now] – well and good. But the state cannot wait for that appetite for a public good to be provided to society.”