Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer on Monday briefed the country on the latest regarding load shedding, which continues for the rest of the week.
IF THERE are any unforeseen issues this week, the load shedding schedule could change. This is according Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer.
Speaking during a briefing on Monday, Oberholzer said Stage 4 was implemented to allow for the replenishment of diesel. He said load shedding would continue overnight to assist with diesel and dam levels.
On Sunday, Eskom announced that it would be alternating between Stages 2 and 3.
“Load shedding will be reduced to Stage 3 until 5am on Tuesday. Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented at 5am on Tuesday and remain in place until Friday,” Eskom said.
Oberholzer said that last week several generators were shut down following breakdowns. He added that by midweek five more units had to be taken off, with more units down by the end of the week.
Oberholzer said that by the weekend Eskom had to take drastic steps to replace diesel.
“It was a disastrous week for generation. We had 42 units tripping during the week, 37 have returned,” he said.
Koeberg Unit 2 has been off since the beginning of the month due to mechanical issues and Oberholzer said teams are working to bring it back to service.
He added that steps put in place to assist or ease the burden of load shedding by President Cyril Ramaphosa could only yield benefits later – not for the next 12 months.
He said, for now, Eskom is relying on its coal fleet.
Meanwhile, Oberholzer said the stream generator that was dropped a year ago has been repaired and given a clean bill of health. The unit is due to arrive in the country at the end of the year.
