On Monday, 10 April 2023 Eskom revealed its loadshedding plan for the week to come. The schedule indicated that South Africans would face stage 3 loadshedding from midnight to 4 PM daily. Loadshedding would then be escalated to stage 5 between 4 PM and midnight.
Eskom explained that two generation units, one at the Lethabo power station and one at the Matimba power station were returned to service on Monday. However, in the same period, three generation units were taken offline for repairs.
Further delays in returning generation units to service at several power stations contributed to capacity contestants. This coupled with an increase in electricity demand after the Easter weekend put additional pressure on the country’s grid and guided Eskom in their loadshedding schedule determination.
The power utility warned that any additional strain on the power generation system may require an increase in the stage of loadshedding. The announcement was then made that stage 5 loadshedding would continue until further notice.
Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa also warned South Africans to brace themselves for a tough winter which could be characterised by higher stages of load shedding.
The minister was speaking in Pretoria at a site where at least six electricity pylons collapsed leaving large parts of Pretoria East and Centurion without power.
Ramokgopa explained that higher stages of loadshedding will be experienced during winter unless demand was reduced and Eskom ramped up its generation capacity. They conceded that everything is being done to ensure that South Africa doesn’t experience loadshedding higher than stage 6 this winter.
It's going to be an exceptionally difficult winter. We know that in summer conditions, the deficit is 6,000 megawatts. When we go into winter, the peak can go up to 37,000 megawatts. But at the current rate of trips and failures, it's going to be an exceptionally difficult winter.
Ramokgopa recently concluded a tour of Eskoms’ power stations to gain insight into the challenges facing different power stations. The minister engaged with station managers, workers and unions on solutions to increase the energy availability factor at stations.
