- South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has announced a return to stage 6 load shedding due to a shortage of generation capacity, with stage 5 and stage 6 load shedding being implemented on a daily rotating schedule until further notice.
- The City of Cape Town is attempting to spare its residents from stage 6 load shedding by reducing it to stage 4 during daytime hours, while increased demand following the long weekend and reopening of schools has put additional strain on the power generation system.
- Energy experts and the South African Minister of Electricity warn of worsening load shedding during the upcoming winter months, with efforts being made to avoid stages beyond stage 6. Eskom is piloting measures to reduce demand on the grid by expanding load curtailment contracts to smaller power consumers.
South Africa’s power utility company, Eskom, has announced that load shedding will be escalated to stage 6 on Wednesday (12 April). This move is in response to a shortage of generation capacity, which has necessitated stage 6 load shedding to be implemented from 16h00 this afternoon until 05h00 on Thursday. Following this, stage 5 load shedding will be in effect until 16h00 on Thursday. The stated pattern is set to be repeated daily until further notice, with Eskom promising to provide updates in case of any significant changes.
The City of Cape Town has assured its residents that efforts will be made to spare them from stage 6 load shedding wherever possible. Instead, a reduction to stage 4 will be implemented during the day until 22h00.
Below is the detailed new schedule:
Wednesday, 12 April:
- Stage 5: until 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Thursday, 13 April:
- Stage 6: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 5: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Friday, 14 April:
- Stage 6: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 5: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Currently, breakdowns have resulted in 16,772MW of generating capacity being lost, while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance has been reduced to 5,807MW. Over the past 24 hours, two generation units at Kriel Power Station were returned to service. However, a generating unit at Duvha Power Station was taken offline for repairs during the same period.
Delays in returning units to service at Camden, Kendal, Lethabo, Medupi, and Tutuka power stations have also contributed to the capacity constraints. The increased demand following the long weekend and the reopening of schools has put additional strain on the power generation system.
South Africa has managed to avoid stage 6 load shedding since February, but has maintained near-permanent load shedding for all but one day of the year – predominantly at stage 4. Energy experts and the South African Minister of Electricity have warned that load shedding is expected to worsen in the coming winter months.
The minister stated, “I’ll be brutally honest. 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.” He emphasized that his department, in collaboration with Eskom, is making every effort to avoid the worst-case scenario of stages beyond stage 6 load shedding.
Although stage 6 is currently the highest official stage of national load shedding implemented, it is worth noting that when taking into account load curtailment, more than 6,000MW has been taken offline. Eskom itself admitted that the group briefly experienced stage 7.
To help reduce demand on the grid, Eskom is currently piloting measures such as expanding load curtailment contracts to smaller power consumers like small businesses and residential areas.
