Why are blackouts back?

Need is to focus on the balance of plants, says energy expert.

- Masoka Dube

South Africans were shocked at the return of load shedding over the weekend and it was ramped up within a few hours to stage 6 yesterday morning.

Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa claimed yesterday that the current bout of load shedding was as a result of Eskom’s aggressive maintenance plan.

Initially, Eskom implemented stage 3 load shedding on Saturday aft ernoon, but residents woke up to stage 6 blackouts yesterday, which were implemented at 1.30am.

“This measure followed the implementation of stage 3, necessitated by multiple unit trips at Majuba Power Station and a unit trip at Medupi that resulted in a loss of 3 864MW in generation capacity, while planned maintenance accounted for 7 506MW,” said Eskom.

“Additionally, to replenish emergency reserves and prepare for the week ahead, stage 6 load shedding was essential.”

Ramokgopa said the return of load shedding was expected, but this was not communicated to residents and businesses prior to implementation.