By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
State owned power utility Eskom will add stage 6 load shedding to the mix for the remainder of the week, due to the loss of four generating units.
The escalation is due to the loss of additional generating units overnight, which has pushed the group’s unplanned outages to almost 16,800MW.
At the same time, planned maintenance is up to around 5,000MW.
Over a period of 24 hours, a generation unit each at Camden, Duvha and Kendal was returned to service, Eskom said.
However, at the same time, a generating unit each at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal and Matla power stations were taken offline for repairs.
The delay in returning to service a generating unit each at Hendrina, Kendal, Matimba and Matla power stations is also contributing to the current capacity constraints.
The entire situation is being exacerbated by the need to replenish the emergency generation reserves and increased planned maintenance – the latter of which is the go-to explanation for intensified outage for electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
The minister warned this past weekend that while planned maintenance is being ramped up, any unplanned outages or delays in getting units back online would mean that load shedding would have to be intensified.
“If (planned maintenance) coincides with a number of units failing on their own, then you are exposed. And the only option available to us is intensified load shedding,” he said.
He stressed that the government and Eskom would not compromise on the ramping up planned maintenance.
“It is a calculated risk. We are going to do this the right way; we are going to fix these units. It’s a short-term pain for long-term gain,” he said.
Meanwhile the City of Cape Town is looking to inject R107 million into services as part of a project to refurbish its Steebras Pumped Storage Scheme over the next few years.
This will ensure that the scheme is maintained and primed for operation so that the current protections it offers against load shedding can continue.
The city said that all due processes will be followed in terms of regulatory and legislative requirements for the refurbishment, adding that the budget and execution of the services will determine the final budget and delivery programme.
“This multi-year contract for the provision of professional services comprises some R107 million to enable the refurbishment of this valuable Cape Town asset that is protecting customers from up to two stages of load-shedding where possible,” it said.
“The contract period is 108 months from date of commencement and is programmed to start 15 February 2024 and end on 30 June 2032. It will lay the foundation for the refurbishment of the plant,” it said.
This project comes as part of wider plan to try and protect the city from up to four stages of load shedding over the next two years.