Unlawful industrial action at various Eskom power stations has impacted planned maintenance and repairs, and at some stations, the full complement of workers has not reported for duty. As a result, stage 4 load shedding will continue to be implemented, says Eskom.<\/p>\n
“Eskom regrets to inform the public that stage 4 load shedding is anticipated to <\/strong><\/span>continue from 05h00 on Monday morning until midnight at least until Wedne<\/span><\/strong>sday<\/strong>. This is due to unlawful <\/span>and unprotected labour action at a number of power stations, which has caused delays in carrying out <\/span>planned maintenance and repairs. Furthermore, at a number of power stations, the full staff complement <\/span>has not reported for d<\/span>uty,” the power utility said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “As a result, unplanned generation losses have not been reduced as planned, <\/span>which has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation <\/span>capacity and safeguard plant from damage. There is a possibility that the stage of load <\/span>shedding may <\/span>have to change at short notice, depending on the state of the plant and the availability of labour.”<\/span> “Adequate emergency reserves are crucial to assist with the generation deficit while <\/span>dealing with generating units that may trip owing to unlawful action,<\/span> and to compensate for <\/span>the inability <\/span>to return generating units timeously to service.”<\/span><\/p>\n The power utility warned that protracted strike actions may lead to further damage <\/span>and prolonged delays to returning units to service, which would compound an already constrained <\/span>power system.<\/span> The power utility appealed to its labour partners and striking employees to put the people of <\/span> South Africa first, <\/span>respect the law and to desist from unlawful and undemocratic conduct. <\/span><\/p>\n “The labour dispute resolution <\/span>process must be allowed to run its course without illegal acts of intimidation and damage to property. <\/span>Eskom will consider all legal opt<\/span>ions at its disposal for damage caused or incited by union <\/span>representatives.”<\/span><\/p>\n Schedules\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:<\/p>\n For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on\u00a0loadshedding.eskom.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.<\/p>\n
Approximately 4,000MW of generation capacity is at risk due to the illegal strike action. It is, therefore,<\/span>\u00a0necessary to replenish<\/span> emergency generation reserves to be able to react to unforeseen <\/span>circumstances, Eskom said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
“We currently have 3,894MW on<\/span> planned maintenance, while another 15 472MW of capacity is <\/span>unavailable due to breakdowns. In addition to this, a further 600MW is unavailable due to a line fault in <\/span>Mozambique that is currently experienced by the Hydroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB).” <\/span>
Eskom said it continues to closely monitor the system, and adjust and communicate any changes as may be <\/span>necessary. <\/span><\/p>\n\n
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