Eskom suspends load shedding, no cuts expected this weekend

Load shedding has been suspended on Friday 21 August following the successful recovery of critical power generating units.

The latest update provided by South Africa’s embattled power utility, Eskom, comes at the end of a dismal week of incapacity. Eskom was forced to implement rotational load shedding schedules on Tuesday, coinciding with the country’s move to Level 2 lockdown and an all-out reopening of the economy.

The surge in demand, coupled with Eskom’s delayed maintenance response, led to protracted periods of powerlessness at a time when the South African economy could least afford it. The utility revealed that unplanned breakdowns at major power stations — including the ill-fated Medupi and Kusile — had siphoned in excess of 12 000 MW from the grid.

With demand outweighing Eskom’s ability to supply, Stage 2 load shedding dominated the week. While repair progress was slow and marred by additional breakdowns at other stations, Eskom, on Thursday evening, announced that it would shift to Stage 1 load shedding on Friday.

Load shedding suspended on Friday 21 August

On Friday morning, Eskom revealed that supply constrictions as a result of unplanned breakdowns had decreased to 8 750MW, allowing for the immediate suspension of load shedding and a decreased risk of cuts over the weekend. Eskom stated:

“After recovering three generation units overnight, Eskom is pleased to announce that the supply constraints have eased sufficiently to allow for the suspension of load shedding. This also means no load shedding is anticipated for the rest of the weekend.

Three generators were returned to service at the Lethabo, Medupi and Kusile power stations while another unit at Kusile was taken offline for repairs.”

Eskom extended its apology to South Africans for the disruptive load shedding schedule.

Eskom cuts costing cash-strapped South Africans

The apology is, however, unlikely to erase heightened frustrations coinciding with the country’s grim economic outlook. South Africa’s hard lockdown, which lasted from April to June, as a direct response to the coronavirus outbreak, has had a devastating impact on the country’s socioeconomic prospects.

National Treasury director general Dondo Mogajane has estimated that, as a result of mass closures and retrenchment strategies, the country’s unemployment rate could soar to beyond 40%.

Eskom’s operational concerns — which were largely spared during the height of lockdown due to a drastic decrease in demand — have returned to the fore. Businesses gasping for air have suffered further losses as a result of the utility’s inefficiencies, with load shedding estimated to cost the South African economy approximately R1 billion per day in unserved energy costs.