Load shedding ‘could GO FURTHER than Stage 6’ this week
What a joke. Eskom could end up disappointing us all further over the next few days, and load shedding may EXCEED Stage 6.
It’s getting increasingly harder to not fill these articles with expletives. Alas, the Stage 6 nightmare we’ve all been plunged into might not be the end of the torment for South Africans – and Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter has suggested that load shedding may get worse before it gets better.
Will Stage 6 become Stage 8? It’s not out of the question
During a media briefing on Sunday, the beleaguered executive made a number of pleas: He has asked the public to conserve electricity – which should be quite easy, given that we don’t actually have any. Municipalities have also been told to turn off their street lights in the day.
However, even these efforts may not be enough to prevent South Africa from plunging into the unprecedented. During the presser, de Ruyter acknowledged that there ‘is a risk’ of HIGHER load shedding phases than Stage 6.
SA has never gone past Stage 6 before – but we’ve never been closer to reaching the much-fabled Stage 8 of outages, either. This is the worst possible scenario for the country, barring a total blackout. Power cuts could be enforced for 12-16 hours a day in some regions.
[JUST IN] #Eskom de Ruyter: there is a RISK that load shedding stages may extend beyond stage 6, he says they trying to cap stage 6, he is followed by Oberholzer who says stage 6 may continue until tomorrow, "We will definitely have HIGH stage of load shedding for the week".
— Afri Parliamentary Watch (@ParliWatchAfri) September 18, 2022
Eskom pushing the boundaries of load shedding
Although we aren’t at that point yet, South Africa is certainly too close for comfort. Eskom hopes to bring between 4 000 MW to 5 000 MW back on the grid by Monday evening. But if more units trip unexpectedly, it could leave us all in a very perilous position.
Eskom’s top brass are certainly feeling the strain right now. There are more calls for Andre de Ruyter to resign this morning, but the CEO isn’t indulging his critics. He maintains that the failures of previous administrations are to blame for this catastrophe.
- Energy expert Ted Blom, however, feels that the current leadership MUST take some accountability…
“I am not exonerating previous management, but current the leadership has taken Eskom over the edge. It will get worse tomorrow. I expect heads to role, starting from the top with those persons who demanded maintenance budget cuts to pay back debt early.” | Ted Blom
