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A new evening load shedding pattern emerges

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Chances of load shedding on Wednesday was medium for the morning and very high for the evening, dependent on the performance of the power plant, Eskom said in a tweet this morning.

Of course the ‘Glass Half Full’ amongst us will view the above tweet with a certain amount of sarcasm or, as someone else told me – aggression – or as someone else will think; “another opportunity to extend my hate speech”. I on the other hand view the tweet as a thinly veiled warning from Eskom that if we don’t behave and curb our consumption this morning then Eskom will go all 50 Shades of Grey on us, by slapping consumers with a round of load shedding just as we get home and contemplate getting all hot and steamy!

Tuesday’s late evening stage 1 load shedding marked the tenth consecutive day of load shedding for electricity consumers as Eskom battles with a very vulnerable electricity supply system. Eskom says the power system remains very vulnerable for the rest of the week.

Consumers have been plunged in the dark for almost 40 days since the beginning of this year in the worst electricity crunch since 2008 as Eskom struggles to meet demand amid a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently out of service due to maintenance.

Eskom said maintenance is carried out to guarantee that its supply of electricity can be maintained in the long term. Although Eskom implemented load shedding on Monday and Tuesday, there was some relief for 96% of electricity users as the power utility only had to shave off 1 000MW off the grid between 17:00 and 21:45 on both days.”Because of maintenance, the system will not be able to meet 1 000MW of demand, meaning that although certain areas will be without electricity for a certain period, about 96% of South Africans will still continue to receive power supply at the same time,” Eskom said in a statement.

The chances for stage 1 load shedding on Wednesday evening are very likely considering Eskom’s outlook for the day: The capacity available to meet that evenings peak demand is 29 650 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 32 047 MW.

Outlook for the rest of the week:

  • Thursday (23 April): The capacity available to meet that evenings peak demand is 29 650 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 31 993 MW.
  • Friday (24 April): The capacity available to meet that evenings peak demand is 29 650 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 30 743 MW.
  • Saturday (25 April): The capacity available to meet that evenings peak demand is 29 840 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 29 412 MW.
  • Sunday (26 April): The capacity available to meet that evenings peak demand is 29 840 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 29 008 MW.

Click on each of the links below to download the different load shedding stages from 30 March to 5 July 2015:

Sponsored by: Straton Solar

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Alan Straton

Chief Cook, Bottle Washer and Broom Mechanic at MyPE
Passionate about Port Elizabeth and definitely NOT packing for Perth. Alan's ethos is epitomised in the words of Nelson Mandela; "I have fought against white domination and I have fought against black domination. I have cherished the idea of a democratic and free society. If need be, it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die." See more articles by Alan.