Stage 3 load shedding is back again
Power utility Eskom has announced that stage 3 load shedding will once again be implemented.
Following over 20 days of uninterrupted electricity supply, Eskom said it has encountered another “temporary setback”.
As a result, Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from Saturday, 22 February, at 17h30 until further notice.
Eskom said it will give an update on Sunday 23 February 2025.
The utility did not expand on what particular “setback” caused the need for load shedding.
When stage 3 load shedding was announced in January, it was due to the depletion of emergency fuel reserves amid breakdowns and service delays.
Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa previously noted that the message has always been clear: load shedding was not over, and setbacks were bound to happen.
This has been evident in the recent returns to outages despite the improved performance at the utility.
Economists at the Bureau for Economic Research warned in February that the power crisis in South Africa is far from over, and the grid is walking on a knife’s edge.
It said that hourly data shows that the situation can deteriorate rapidly, and load shedding can spring back – as it now has – with very short notice.
On top of this, the economists added that, even with no load shedding or its sporadic return, the electricity grid is still constraining economic growth.
“The lack of a stable, predictable supply of electricity remains a significant brake on economic growth. If growth were to accelerate rapidly, the risk of another round of load-shedding would rise,” the BER said.
“(South Africa) needs to press ahead with the electricity system reform programme. Already, reforms to create independent power producers have added over 6GW of electricity generation capacity.
“The unbundling of Eskom will lead to a more competitive generation market, bringing new capacity online.”
Eskom’s latest System Status Report shows that shortfalls, while not expected, are part of its risk scenarios this year.
Loading ...