As Eskom continues to implement rotational power cuts, President Cyril Ramaphosa has painfully admitted the government cannot end load shedding in the short term.
This means Eskom’s recent assessment of load shedding over the next 18 to 24 months will continue as forecast, barring a miracle in the power utility’s generation capacity.
Ramaphosa yesterday made a sober analysis of the country’s energy crisis, following Cabinet’s meeting last week, saying there were no quick fixes for load shedding.
In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa lamented the dire consequences of intensified load shedding, saying it affected education, public safety and the provision of health services, and that the energy crisis was endangering investment and the economic recovery.
“Given the unpredictable performance of Eskom’s fleet of coal-fired power stations, we will not be able to eliminate load shedding in the short term,” Ramaphosa said
“This is the unfortunate reality of our situation, which has had a long history. Our goal in the immediate term, however, is to reduce the frequency and severity of load shedding by addressing power station breakdowns.”
However, Ramaphosa said Eskom was urgently implementing measures to improve plant performance, which was a priority until new generation power projects were brought online.
These included addressing the critical issue of coal supply and the poor quality of coal, undertaking critical maintenance without delays, procuring emergency power, and addressing the skills, experience and capabilities of the Eskom leadership.
Ramaphosa said that these interventions would help to reduce the severity and frequency of load shedding as the government was bringing new power onto the grid over the medium term.
“While we work to increase the supply of electricity, we must increase efforts to reduce demand, particularly at peak times,” he said.
“We must come together as citizens to alleviate the pressure on the national grid. This means using electricity sparingly, reporting illegal connections and paying for the electricity we use.”
Meanwhile, Eskom has warned of possible higher stages of power cuts if diesel procurement is not secured, as it is implementing stage 3 load shedding during the day and stage 4 load shedding in the evening until Thursday.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said Eskom was still experiencing constraints from its diesel suppliers, which was affecting the availability of bulk diesel to the Ankerlig and Gourikwa Open Cycle Gas Turbines. The two have a combined capacity of 2000MW.
“While we expect diesel deliveries from Tuesday onwards, should this uncertainty of supply persist, higher stages of load shedding may be required.
While some generation units are anticipated to return to service, it is necessary to continue the load shedding to conserve emergency generation reserves,” he said.
“Since Friday, a generation unit each at Camden and Kriel power stations were taken off line for repairs. Another generating unit each at Kriel and Kusile power stations were returned to service.”
The South African Reserve Bank last week revised down its economic growth forecast for 2022, from 2% to 1.9%, mainly due to persistent load shedding, which has crippled activity.
Absa chief economist Peter Worthington said power cuts did not bode well for growth in the three months to September, following a contraction of 0.7% in the second quarter.
“Load shedding continues to be implemented at worryingly high stages, which bodes ill for economic activity in the third quarter,” he said.
BUSINESS REPORT