Load shedding to last all weekend, confirms ‘apologetic’ Eskom

Load shedding will continue at Stage 2 on Friday 31 January and will last until Monday 3 February.

Andre de Ruyter’s tenure as the new CEO of Eskom has gotten off to a shaky start. While the recent bout of load shedding, which made its return on Thursday evening, has emboldened calls for Eskom to be privatised and added to the controversy surrounding questions of de Ruyter’s competence as a utility boss, blame has been squarely placed on aging infrastructure.

Aging infrastructure breakdowns

Eskom’s generation capacity has been slashed by breakdowns, with current losses hovering around 12 722MW. While the utility has managed to walk the tightrope of electrical demand by supplementing supply with the use of costly open cycle gas turbines (OCGT), Eskom’s diesel reserves have run dry, forcing the urgent implementation of load shedding as a means of avoiding a complete nationwide blackout.

The irregular balancing act, whereby Eskom relies on OCTG power to offset the constant pressure of plant breakdowns, has been heavily criticised by economists and energy analysts alike.

Eskom, which has teetered on the brink of financial ruin after posting a R21 billion loss in the previous financial year, is also struggling to keep up with the cost of diesel, leaving South Africans at the mercy of protracted bouts of powerlessness.

Load shedding from Friday 31 January until Monday 3 February

#POWERALERT 1
Date: 31 January 2020

Stage 2 loadshedding continues from 9:00 this morning @SABCNewsOnline @IOL @ewnupdates @eNCA @TimesLIVE @News24 @Moneyweb @BDliveSA @SowetanLIVE @dailysunsa @TheCitizen_News @SAgovnews @SAfmnews @Fin24 pic.twitter.com/SgmjuEtWta

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 31, 2020

This vicious cycle, all emanating from dreadful maintenance practices which have left vital infrastructure to rot, has already cost the South African economy billions of rands in 2020. Worryingly, the situation shows few signs of improving. Eskom reports that load shedding will resume at 09:00 on Friday and persist until Monday morning.

The utility’s failures, in addition to pummelling the already-frail economy through the cost of unserved energy, have the propensity to hasten a credit downgrade. Global ratings agency, Moody’s, has warned that Eskom remains the single greatest threat to South Africa’s economy and that its inability to function independently would likely lead to the country earning ‘junk status’.

A credit downgrade will have serious implications for the South African economy, namely the exodus of foreign investment.

In announcing load shedding on Friday 31 January, Eskom added:

“We apologise unreservedly to South Africans for the negative impact this may have on them.”