Publications
Partners
Cape Town - Eskom has announced that it will move load shedding from stage 2 (2000MW shed from the grid) to a partial stage 3 (4000MW shed off the grid) at 16:00 due to the vulnerable system of the grid.
Eskom made the same announcement at the same time on Tuesday, revealing how sensitive the electricity situation is at the moment.
LOAD SHEDDING PLANNER: Gridwatch
Load shedding should last until 22:00.
Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown told media in Cape Town on Wednesday that Eskom only wanted to subject South Africans to a few hours of stage 3 load shedding, which is why it only implemented at from 16:00 to 22:00 and not the whole day.
"There will be load shedding for the next two years," she said. "It is time for South Africans and the economy to adapt to the situation and find a way to save electricity and manage their productivity during the few hours of load shedding when it occurs."
Eskom tends to complete its planned maintenance programme ahead of winter due to the spike in usage, but Brown said this must not happen this year. "I think we need to stick to maintenance," she said. "Even in winter."
"It is worrying if they are not consistent with maintenance," she said. "Then you will have unplanned outages."
