President Cyril Ramaphosa has warned South Africans to expect intermittent power cuts due to Eskom’s ongoing maintenance efforts. He, however, has assured citizens that the power will be restored shortly.
Currently, Eskom is undergoing a process of “repositioning the generation of our fleets.” In simpler terms, Eskom is adjusting and updating how it produces electricity. Just like a car that needs periodic servicing to run smoothly, the country’s power-producing “machines” or units also need maintenance. By doing this, Eskom aims to ensure that future blackouts, or “load-sheddings”, are infrequent and of short duration.
After a briefing with Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa about the ongoing tasks at the power company, Ramaphosa commented, “Although it’s a challenge now, this maintenance is like a short-term discomfort for a more reliable power supply in the future. While nobody likes blackouts, it’s crucial to understand that these temporary cuts are a part of the bigger picture to permanently reduce them in the future.”
TimesLIVE informed that Eskom began its stage 6 load-shedding from 5 am on Tuesday and will continue until further notice. This is attributed to the increased maintenance work and the recent loss of two more power generation units.
Furthermore, due to urgent repairs, two more units at the Lethabo and Matla power stations will be offline. As of now, breakdowns are affecting 16,210MW of the generating capacity. Additionally, 5,894MW is set aside for planned service maintenance. Delays in getting power units back online at the Hendrina and Tutuka stations have further strained electricity generation capabilities.
