Eskom implemented so-called stage 2 loadshedding, taking 2,000 megawatts offline to prevent a total collapse of the grid. — Bloomberg
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s state-owned power utility schedules nationwide rolling blackouts through tomorrow because of a delay in restarting generation capacity that was offline for repairs along with additional equipment breakdowns.
Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd implemented so-called stage 2 loadshedding, taking 2,000 megawatts offline to prevent a total collapse of the grid, during peak-use hours that started on Tuesday, the company said in a statement.
The rand weakened after the announcement.
Less than two weeks ago, the utility forecast a low risk of sustained power cuts as South Africa heads into the winter season that drives up demand for electricity.
It resumed rolling blackouts, known as loadshedding, earlier this year after a 10-month hiatus that resulted from improved maintenance of its plants.
Loadshedding had until early 2024 taken a significant toll on the economy, as much as 899 million rand (US$49mil) per day, according to central bank estimates, and was among the reasons why the ruling African National Congress lost its majority in last year’s elections.
Eskom halted the almost-daily outages, which lasted as many as 12 hours per day, in the weeks before the May national vote.
Power cuts resulting from Eskom’s failure to meet demand cost South Africa’s economy 481 billion rand last year, an 83% drop from 2023, according to the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research. Stabilising the system is essential to ramping up economic growth. — Bloomberg
