Eskom announced stage 6 load shedding on Monday evening, which means the national grid needs to shed 6,000 megawatts. The power utility said: “We regret and sincerely apologize that stage 4 load shedding will move to stage 6 load shedding as from 18:00 today, as a result of a shortage of capacity. This follows a technical problem at Medupi Power Station, impacting additional generation supply.” Despite its efforts to minimize the risk of load shedding and repairing its power systems, Eskom said the country could experience two more years of power cuts. The power utility has been implementing blackouts since last week Thursday, citing wet coal and, a vulnerable and unreliable system, among their reasons.
Mines across South Africa are shutting down after flash flooding set off the largest power blackouts in more than a decade, threatening a key export sector in a further blow to the country’s already slowing economy. Heavy rains across parts of the country have submerged whole neighborhoods, leading to mass evacuations and aggravating problems at state-owned utility Eskom, which has been struggling to keep the lights on since 2008. Energy minister Gwede Mantashe is considering short and medium-term interventions, such as pushing forward approval for new power-generation projects, to tackle the energy and electricity challenges, the ministry said in a statement.
Source – www.africa.com
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