Stage 2 load shedding strikes

·25 Mar 2015

Eskom has announced that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented on Wednesday (25 March).

The group said the load shedding will come into effect from 16h00, and will likely last until 22h00.

“Any additional changes on the already vulnerable and constrained power system could lead to a change in the stage at short notice,” Eskom said.

“We assure you that load shedding is implemented as a last resort to protect the power system. We will only load shed what is required.”

Earlier in the week, Eskom put out a bulletin with the supply and demand forecast up to Sunday (28 March), showing that demand was expected exceed supply for most of the week.

On Saturday, Eskom was forced to implement stage one rolling power cuts, ‘due to a shortage of generation capacity’ as several units were out of service due to planned and unplanned outages.

Eskom supply and demand

In recent months, Eskom has battled to keep the lights on since the collapse of one of its coal storage silos, diesel shortages, and maintenance issues.

Because of these constraints, Eskom says it has been forced to explore options for further review of tariff increases for the 2015/16 financial year.

The National Energy Regulator of SA has confirmed Eskom is formalising an application to reopen the multi-year price determination, allowing for a further increase in electricity tariffs.

Power cuts implemented by Eskom costs South Africa’s economy between $1.7 billion (R20 billion) and $6.8 billion (R80.1 billion) a month, Reuters reported on Wednesday (25 March).

The news agency cited a presentation by the department of public enterprises to parliament.

Eskom customers can check load shedding schedules on the website or contact our customer call centre on 0860 037 566