Page 6 - AfrElec Week 43 2021

AfrElec ESKOM AfrElec

Eskom switches to more

severe scheduled outages

SOUTH AFRICA SOUTH African state power utility Eskom were forced to shut down. This constrained the
announced more severe scheduled power cuts power system further requiring extensive use of
that would last until Saturday because of a short- emergency reserves, therefore hampering the
age of generation capacity on Wednesday after- recovery of these reserves.”
noon, 27 October. Eskom said that some generating units have
This comes after the power utility had to returned to service and it anticipates another two
implement outages on October 25, due to a series units will return during the day. It hoped this
of breakdowns. As the week developed, however, would allow the load shedding system likely to
the breakdowns had escalated. be downgraded from level 4 to level 3.
Eskom needs to implement the scheduled It said load shedding is a last resort and again
outages because its ageing fleet is not providing apologised for the inconvenience caused.
adequate power for the needs of South Africa, On Friday, a few more thousand MW are
and if the system is overloaded South Africa expected to come back on to the system, result-
would face a total blackdown that could last for ing in a likely downgrade to Stage 2.
weeks. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan
The power cuts have had a devastating effect and Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said at a hast-
on South Africa’s economic growth, but were ily convened press conference that Eskom and
needed for the stability of the power grid. the government were working day and night to
The latest outages occurred because Eskom fix the issues responsible for the blackouts.
required up to 4,000 MW to be shed from the Gordhan said that “Eskom and the govern-
national grid, after several breakdowns at its ment are doing everything possible to ensure
power stations. Its maintenance schedule was elections can go ahead without disruption” on
also lagging behind. Monday. November 1.
The state-owned power utility warned that Eskom said unplanned breakdowns
load shedding in Stage 4 would continue until amounted to almost 15,000 MW, while over
5am on Friday, October 29, when the schedule 5,000 MW was out on planned maintenance.
would return to the less severe Stage 2. This stage The power utility has a nominal capacity of
would continue until 5am on Saturday, around 48,000 MW and supplies over 90% of
“Over the past 24 hours a unit each at Medupi, the country’s electricity, mainly through its coal
Kusile and Matla power stations tripped, while a power plants.™
unit each at Lethabo and Arnot power stations

P6 www. NEWSBASE .com Week 43 28•October•2021