NATIONAL NEWS - Eskom has denied claims that load-shedding surpassed stage six after analysts claimed over the weekend that the power utility quietly imposed stage 8 load-shedding on unsuspecting South Africans.
This is despite Eskom shaving over 7 000MW of demand off the grid at one point, according to Mybroadband.
The report said that the following figures stipulate how much energy is shed from the grid under each load-shedding stage:
- Stage 1 — Up to 1,000MW
- Stage 2 — 1,001 to 2,000MW
- Stage 3 — 2,001 to 3,000MW
- Stage 4 — 3,001 to 4,000MW
- Stage 5 — 4,001 to 5,000MW
- Stage 6 — 5,001 to 6,000MW
- Stage 7 — 6,001 to 7,000MW
- Stage 8 — 7,001 to 8,000MW
On Thursday during the evening peak, the power utility had energy availability of 23 771MW against a power demand of 30 747MW.
Eskom then shed 7 072MW, according to its official daily energy generation update, The Citizen reported.
But the power utility’s interim spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena, said that on the day in question, Eskom implemented stage 6 load-shedding coupled with stage 4 load curtailment, EWN reported.
Load curtailment is targeted at reducing consumption by large energy users.
The claims that Eskom may have quietly surpassed stage 6 have gripped the country as residents and businesses continue to reel from the impact of the persistent power cuts.
Meanwhile, Eskom said on Sunday it was fixing a fault at Koeberg’s Unit 2 which caused it to trip on Saturday.
“The cause of the trip was due to problems with the feedwater pumps on the secondary circuit.
“The unit is expected to safely synchronise to the grid before morning peak tomorrow once all the required activities are completed,” the power uitlity said.
Eskom moved South Africa to stage 6 load-shedding on Friday after the trip at Koeberg. Another three units were offline at Kusile power station.
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