The national grid remains constrained, said Eskom during a system update presentation on Wednesday, noting that there is an elevated risk of loadshedding during winter, especially in the mornings and evenings.
The power utility also said it would continue with power cuts again today, from 5pm to 10pm, noting that it planned to return to service two units at Kusile power station in the next few weeks. Two more units would be put to service by the end of June at Koeberg power station.
Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said as the power utility grappled with rolling power cuts and other operational challenges, management remained committed to the principles of openness and transparency about Eskom’s operations.
“As such, the state of the system update, the Eskom data portal, and the regular media briefings give us an opportunity to provide insights about the state of the power system and keep South Africans and all stakeholders informed and enabling them to plan ahead,” said De Ruyter.
Eskom stated that long-term solutions were being implemented on coal handling to efficiently address coal-stock challenges that have contributed to poor plant performance.
Chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer said: “Each of the six generation units had to be switched off for 75 days to perform this work. This will indeed prove to be a worthy sacrifice for the people of South Africa who have had to endure long hours of loadshedding in order for Eskom to correct these poor designs.”
“Once the agreed technical solutions are complete at both stations, Eskom expects both Medupi and Kusile to form the backbone of an evolving and greener power system that will be able to take South Africa into a more sustainable and dynamic energy industry.”
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