We cannot live like this! Mzansi reacts to Eskom’s indefinite implementation of Stage 6 load shedding

Picture: Itumeleng English

Picture: Itumeleng English

Published Jan 12, 2023

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Durban - South Africans have expressed outrage at the country's move to Stage 6 load shedding, which Eskom says will be implemented "until further notice".

On Wednesday, Eskom said it was forced to implement a higher level of load shedding following the breakdown of several generators.

"Eleven generators, amounting to 5 084MW of capacity, suffered breakdowns since Tuesday morning, further reducing available capacity and necessitating the increase in the stages of load shedding. These were a unit each at the Camden, Duvha, Grootvlei, Hendrina, Kendal, and two units each at Kriel, Majuba and Matla power stations.

“A unit each at Camden, Duvha, Hendrina, Kriel, Matimba and Matla power stations have returned to service, representing 2 540MW of capacity," explained Eskom's Sikhonathi Mantshantsha.

He said planned maintenance is currently 5 739MW while breakdowns amount to 18 041MW of capacity.

Mantshantsha added that Stage 6 load shedding will be implemented continuously until further notice.

"Due to the severe capacity constraints, Eskom will continue to manage the limited emergency generation reserves to supplement generation capacity," he said.

Action SA leader Herman Mashaba slammed President Cyril Ramaphosa, adding that he promised to fix the country's ailing power utility, but it has gotten worse.

— Sophie Mokoena (@Sophie_Mokoena) January 12, 2023

The City of Cape Town has activated its disaster coordinating team to mitigate any potential impact on residents.

"The situation is being closely monitored. Traffic and additional enforcement resources are on standby to be deployed if required for any public safety issues, or in areas affected by prolonged power outages," the CoCT said.

It said Eskom’s non-stop load shedding at high stages, has impacted City infrastructure negatively, despite the contingency measures that are in place.

CoCT added that load shedding also impacts traffic, with nearly 75% of signalised intersections on the City’s road network equipped with Uninterrupted Power Supply (UPS) systems.

"This is 1 228 of the City’s 1 652 traffic signals. Unfortunately, the UPS batteries do not have sufficient time to recharge when Eskom implements non-stop Stage 4 load shedding or above," the CoCT said.

Speaking to EWN, Efficient Group's Dawie Roodt said the blackouts could lead to elevated levels of unemployment and poverty.

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