Eskom says Stage 2 load shedding will continue on Saturday despite the heavy rain. The power utility is continuing to replenish the emergency reserves which are utilised to supplement capacity during the week.
The power utility announced last week that it was planning to implement load shedding until 6 o’ clock on Thursday morning. However, Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha says a shortage of capacity and a high demand for electricity has prompted them to extend the black outs.
#POWERALERT 2
Date: 7 February 2020Stage 2 rotational load shedding will continue tomorrow, with a high probability of loadshedding on Sunday and the week ahead @SABCNewsOnline @IOL @eNCA @ewnupdates @TimesLIVE @SowetanLIVE @TheSAnews @TheCitizen_News @News24 pic.twitter.com/9lLfrnGQGq
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) February 7, 2020
Recently Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter described load shedding as unavoidable, reiterating that the system remains constrained. Speaking at a media briefing at Megwatt Park in Johannesburg last week, de Ruyter said the decision to impose load shedding on South Africans is regrettable but necessary.
“We are extremely scrupulous when it comes to the imposition of load shedding. It is not a decision that we take lightly or easily. I am personally involved in every decision to impose load shedding and it is very regrettable for us to have to do this to South Africa. But we cannot avoid it given the state of the system right now. The system is constrained, unreliable and unpredictable. It is prone to unplanned outages and breakdowns, and it causes us to have to burn diesel on our open-cycle gas turbines, which is an expensive way of generating electricity.”
#Eskom De Ruyter says he is personally involved in the process of #Loadshedding and says its regrettable that they have to do this to South Africans. #sabcnews pic.twitter.com/IjB44j5eE5
— #TheLordOfTheMedia (@samkelemaseko) January 31, 2020
De Ruyter further warned of the likelihood of more load shedding in the future as the power utility works to fix the system and perform scheduled maintenance.
