Rotational power cuts will continue at Stages 5 and 6 until further notice

Eskom announced yesterday that it would implement load shedding at Stage 5 during the day and Stage 6 during the evening until further notice.

The utility stated that two generation units at Kriel Power Station were taken offline for repairs while four units at other stations were taking longer for repairs. However, three generation units were successfully returned to service over the last day. As of yesterday, Eskom’s overall energy availability factor (EAF) stood at just 51% of installed capacity due to breakdowns amounting to 17 325MW (or 37% of installed capacity), while 5 457MW (12%) was unavailable due to planned maintenance. So far, Eskom does not appear to be making much headway in restoring the performance of its existing generating fleet, resulting in continued intense bouts of load shedding (Figure 1). The Energy Action Plan updated in January targeted an EAF of 60% by end March.