{"id":813708,"date":"2025-02-22T17:35:09","date_gmt":"2025-02-22T15:35:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=813708"},"modified":"2025-02-22T17:52:39","modified_gmt":"2025-02-22T15:52:39","slug":"stage-3-load-shedding-is-back-again","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/813708\/stage-3-load-shedding-is-back-again\/","title":{"rendered":"Stage 3 load shedding is back again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
Power utility Eskom has announced that stage 3 load shedding will once again be implemented.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Following over 20 days of uninterrupted electricity supply, Eskom said it has encountered another “temporary setback”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
As a result, Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from Saturday, 22 February, at 17h30 until further notice. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eskom said it will give an update on Sunday 23\u00a0February\u00a02025.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The utility did not expand on what particular “setback” caused the need for load shedding. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
When stage 3 load shedding was announced in January, it was due to the depletion of emergency fuel reserves amid breakdowns and service delays.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa previously noted that the message has always been clear: load shedding was not over, and setbacks were bound to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has been evident in the recent returns to outages despite the improved performance at the utility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s edge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe 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,\u201d the BER said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c(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. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
“The unbundling of Eskom will lead to a more competitive generation market, bringing new capacity online.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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