Friday, 12 March 2021: Regrettably, the implementation of Stage 2
loadshedding will be extended to 23:00 on Sunday as the generation capacity is
severely constrained. Over the past 24 hours further breakdowns occurred at
three power stations, putting further strain on the generation capacity.
Breakdowns
at the Kriel, Medupi and Kendal power stations resulted in generation units
being taken offline for various faults. Emerging risks at various other power
stations have also contributed to the constraints.
While
Eskom used the loadshedding of the past two days to replenish the emergency
generation reserves, we have had to utilise the emergency reserves to
supplement supply. This period of loadshedding will be used to replenish the
emergency generation reserves.
We
currently have 7 071MW on planned maintenance, while another 11 780MW of
capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. This has led to our
inability to supply the increasing demand.
Eskom
is working hard to return the units back to service, and should the previously
stated risks materialise and units not return as expected, there is a high
probability that loadshedding may continue into the coming week.
Eskom
will continue to assess and communicate promptly as the situation changes.
As
previously communicated, Eskom continues to implement reliability maintenance
during this period, and as such the system will continue to be constrained,
with the possibility of loadshedding remaining elevated.
Eskom
requests the public to continue using electricity sparingly as the system
remains vulnerable and unpredictable, and we will communicate timeously should
there be any significant changes to the power system.
ENDS