Eskom on Code Red: Load shedding likely ‘every week, for next three months’

Remember when we all thought 2021 would be a better year than 2020? Well, we are two weeks in, and things are yet to improve. We may be in the middle of a global pandemic, but that hasn’t stopped Eskom from stealing the limelight: Load shedding remains in place until Sunday evening – and the utility is on ‘Code Red’ for the next few months.

Eskom reveals ‘power cuts likely’ until April

Eskom has taken to publishing a load shedding forecast on their website. The firm calculates how much power is likely to be off the grid each week, estimating both planned maintenance outages and potential ‘unplanned incidents’. The picture for the next three months looks bleak, with blackouts now ‘highly likely’ every week until mid-April.

The final column in the table below is blocked out as red – the worst possible scenario for Eskom’s generational capacity. Chris Yelland, one of South Africa’s leading energy analysts, also shared the grim predictions on his Twitter page:

The @Eskom_SA three-month forecast on its website shows that the risk of loadshedding is code RED for every week for next 3 months. pic.twitter.com/VB2mcHlHEY

— Chris Yelland (@chrisyelland) January 15, 2021

Code Red: What time is load shedding today?

Eskom revealed on Thursday that four days of load shedding would take place, only finishing late on Sunday evening. An issue with the coal conveyor belts at Kusile has forsaken South Africa, as have two ‘unforeseen breakdowns’ elsewhere:

“Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 12:00 on Thursday through to 23:00 on Sunday night. Two generational units at the Kusile Power Station tripped due to the failure of the main coal feed conveyor belts supplying coal to the units. In addition, a unit each at the Kriel and Duvha tripped due to unforeseen breakdowns.

“We presently have four generation units whose return to service from planned maintenance has been delayed. Eskom personnel are working tirelessly to return as much of this capacity to service as soon as possible. Eskom would like to urge the public to reduce electricity consumption in order to help us minimize load shedding.”

Latest statement from Eskom