Wednesday, 17 March 2021: Eskom regrets to inform the public that due to
further loss of generation capacity loadshedding will increase to Stage 2 from
21:00 tonight and will continue until 05:00 on Saturday. This escalation in the
stage of loadshedding is required to safeguard the power system after a further
loss of generating capacity at the Medupi, Arnot, Duvha and Kendal power
stations.
In
addition to Eskom’s inability to supply the full demand, we have seen an
increase in demand, which has put a further strain on the emergency generation
reserves today.
The
contributing factors for the losses are boiler tube leaks and units tripping,
as well as the delay in the return to service of a single unit at the Kendal
power station. Higher than anticipated demand today has also contributed to the
extensive use of emergency generation resources. Eskom is working hard to
return the units back to service as soon as possible.
We
currently have 6 052MW on planned maintenance, while another 12 690MW of
capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. This has led to our
inability to supply the full demand.
Eskom
would like to apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty caused and
requests the public to continue using electricity sparingly. The system remains
vulnerable and unpredictable.
We
will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power
system.
ENDS