Eskom announces more load-shedding relief

3 years ago 1

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Eskom reduced load-shedding to stage 4 from 09:00 on Sunday, 26 February 2023.

The abrupt change came at less than five minutes’ notice and only four hours after Eskom reduced load-shedding from stage 6 to stage 5.

Generation statistics for Saturday posted by Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha suggested that Eskom’s generation shortfall had shrunk significantly from earlier in the week.

At yesterday’s peak, demand stood at 26,434MW, while Eskom had generating capacity of 24,648MW.

That meant it had a deficit of about 1,786MW at peak demand. On Friday, that deficit was 3,643MW.

Eskom typically maintains a buffer to protect against any unexpected breakdowns, but there was a big difference between the buffers on Friday and Saturday.

On Friday, it shed 5,434MW at peak demand, 1,700MW more than the shortfall.

On Saturday, Eskom shed 5,183MW, nearly 3,400MW more than the shortfall and double Friday’s buffer.

Had the utility maintained a similar buffer from the day before, it could have reduced load-shedding to stage 5 on Saturday evening, with megawatts to spare.

It is possible that it maintained the high cushion to replenish emergency reserves at its pumped water storage schemes and diesel-powered open-cycle gas turbines.

Eskom said stage 4 would be in effect until further notice, and that it would provide a full statement on the generation situation in due course.

The load-shedding for the week ahead remains unclear, but Eskom typically has to implement higher stages of load-shedding on business days to keep up with increased demand.

However, it is worth noting that Eskom did not have to run any of its open-cycle gas turbines during the peak demand periods on Friday and Saturday while maintaining stage 6 load-shedding.

Recently it has used these power stations to supplement supply during the week.