Eskom warns of 4 000MW shortfall and increased risk of power cuts

Eskom said that it would continue to have a shortfall of more than 4,000 megawatts of generation capacity this year, which will continue to grow, increasing the risk of load shedding.

This week, corporate companies are resuming full operations for the year while inland schools are set to open from Wednesday, resulting in more people consuming electricity again.

Last year was one of the worst years of load shedding, with more than 47 days of rolling power cuts.

Eskom said that some of its power stations were about 42-years-old this year and could not be expected to perform as it should.

Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said that the utility was conducting all required maintenance this year to meet the country’s demand.

But he said that this year would be particularly tricky.

“So the reality is that the supply constraints will still very much be with us during this year and there will at times be the need to implement load shedding,” Mantshantsha said.

He said that this maintenance was extremely important as it would ensure that the power stations could still operate for a further 20 years.

On a positive note, the Kusile power station’s unit four is expected to help with electricity supply over the next few months.

-EWN

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