In a move surprising a total of zero people, Eskom announced today that Stage 2 load shedding will be making a return from 2PM this afternoon until 5AM Saturday morning. Break out the generators and charge up those power banks, friends. Here we go again.
Load shedding: extended edition
Regretfully, Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 today until 05:00 on Saturday@News24 @Newzroom405 @SABCNews @eNCA @SundayTimesZA @SowetanLIVE pic.twitter.com/3ZDo63nyfZ
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 17, 2021
“Regretfully, due to the ongoing insufficient generation capacity and the loss of a unit each at Medupi, Duvha and Kedal power stations this morning, Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 14:00 today until 05:00 on Saturday 20 November,” reads a statement from the power utility. “This is to preserve the remaining emergency (sic) reserves at the OCGT and pump storage power stations in order to prevent higher stages of loadshedding.”
We’re sceptical towards that last bit. Over the past few weeks, Eskom has shown that it’s not exactly shy when it comes to jumping load shedding from Stage 2 to Stage 4. Fingers crossed this time around, but we’re keeping our expectations low.
Alongside the several units that failed this morning, five apparently went down yesterday as well. 3 of those have apparently been brought back online, while the remaining 2 are still being repaired.
Breakdowns currently amount to 15,485MW while a further 4,100MW have been set aside for planned maintenance. Eskom wants us all to remember that load shedding is a last resort to maintain grid stability, though for a so-called last resort we seem to use it quite a bit. As usual, the utility apologises for any inconveniences caused by load shedding, which makes everything okay, right?
In preparation for the lights going out, check out some of our guides to help get you through load shedding. You’re going to need them.