Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, says teams are working around the clock to return to service the units that have contributed to load shedding being intensified to stage 6, and as of yesterday (Sunday), stage 5.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Giving an update on the grid’s performance following the escalated load shedding levels, Ramokgopa said on Sunday (11 February) that boiler tube leaks at nine units contributed to the load shedding being bumped up to stage 6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ramokgopa said that from Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, 4,400 megawatts were taken off the grid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cEskom management has decided, having identified boiler tube leaks as a major area of concern that undermines the availability of these units, to work directly with the original equipment manufacturers so that they do not go through the middleman. They are engaging with the people who designed these units.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe people who know the DNA of these units are the ones who are assigned the responsibility to deal with this, so that we are able to do a proper root cause analysis, and be able to diagnose and then provide a prognosis, and return these units to service at the quickest possible period of time, having taken into account all safety concerns,\u201d Ramokgopa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The power stations whose units contributed to the 4,400 megawatts include Lethabo, Matimba, Duvha, Majuba, Camden, Grootvlei, Kriel and Medupi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Our planned maintenance is at about 7,000MW\u2026 If it means we ramp up load shedding for the purposes of conducting planned maintenance\u2026 we will be able to return the units healthier\u2026 for the long-term gain,” said Ramokgopa.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ramokgopa said two of the units, Lethabo 5 and Kriel 2, have since come back online, with work underway to get the unit at Medupi back online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Minister added that Matimba 2, Kendal 3 and 4 are expected to return today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are expecting to return [the other units] that failed\u2026 by Wednesday. By Tuesday, we expect a significant reduction, going back to stages 4, 3, 2, and 1 [of load shedding].<\/p>\n\n\n\n “As part of planned maintenance, a significant portion of units will come back towards the beginning and end of March, where we will be moving from 7,000MW to lower levels of between 5,000MW and 6,000MW, where you are going to see significantly improved intensity of load shedding,” he added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Minister said they are expecting to see significant improvements in the intensity of load shedding by March.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can account for the sources of failure. We know what the issues are\u2026 We are working on ensuring that we return these units, and if there are other issues, the board and the executive will look at that,\u201d Ramokgopa said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Loadshedding reduced to stage 5<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, Eskom announced that load shedding stage 5 will be implemented from 12pm on Sunday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a statement, Eskom has, over the past 48 hours, successfully replenished its pumped storage dam levels, bringing some generation units back to service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis enables the reduction of load shedding to stage 5 from 12pm until further notice. Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate any changes to load shedding, should it be required,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n