By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
State owned power utility Eskom says that the current rotational schedule, moving between stage 5 and stage 6 load shedding, will continue indefinitely.
Stage 6 load shedding will continue to be implemented until 05h00 on Thursday (19 April), followed by stage 5 load shedding until 16h00. Stage 6 load shedding will return for the evening between 16h00 and 05h00 again.
This pattern will repeat until further notice, Eskom said.
Eskom says that even though it is load shedding at levels beyond stage 6 (over 6,000MW), the load shedding stages are not higher due to load curtailment taking place.
On Tuesday, the group shed 6,226MW from the grid, which included stage 6 load shedding, and stage 4 load curtailment.
The grid remains under severe strain despite Koeberg unit 1 being synchronised to the grid late on Sunday (16 April).
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 Nedbank economist Johannes Khosa, says that progress on turning embattled power utility Eskom around is slow, and that load shedding is likely to stick around for the next three to five years.
In the banking group’s latest Guide to the Economy for 2023, Khosa noted that persistent electricity shortages in South Africa have had a massively disruptive effect on all industries in the country and would remain the main drag on the economy in 2023.
“Load-shedding will likely worsen in the second and third quarters as demand for heating increases over the winter while the electricity supply remains severely constrained. It is becoming clear that the electricity crisis will not be resolved quickly,” he said.
He also said that the government’s strategy of throwing more ministers at the problem isn’t proving effective.
“Although there are now three ministers in some way responsible for energy security, Eskom’s operations have not improved,” the economist said.
This lack of improvement is also despite enormous fiscal support over the past decade amid persistent allegations of deep-seated corruption at the power utility.
“The new Electricity Minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, recently indicated that Eskom could add 2,000 MW to the grid by the end of the year if plant maintenance is improved. The minister stressed that stabilising the grid would require the cooperation of Eskom suppliers and even more financial support from the government.
“This latest call for funds comes after National Treasury had allocated an additional R254.4 billion in debt relief to be disbursed over three years in February’s National Budget. This debt relief package, in turn, followed several years of substantial public bailouts and repeated above-inflation hikes in electricity tariffs.”
Given the lack of progress at Eskom, load-shedding will probably persist for the next three to five years, Khosa said.