Eskom load shedding
Johannesburg’s City Power utility - which took over the load shedding scheduling from Eskom in November - says it’s has finally resolved the frequent outages which were leading to blackouts every two hours during high load shedding stages.
The frequent outages were a source of huge frustration for Joburg residents once the load shedding stages reached Stage 5 or higher.
City Power had managed to reduce scheduled load shedding to two hours at a time, but in so doing, they created an even bigger problem which saw residents load shed every two hours.
City Power spokesperson Isaac Mangena said they were re-introducing the four hour load shedding to combat this.
“The frequent two hour load shedding during higher stages of load shedding has been a major source of public outcry following the takeover of the administration of load shedding in Johannesburg from the power utility, Eskom – effective from 06 November 2023.
“While this was welcomed during lower stages where customers were shed only for two hours, with some going for a day or two without being load shed, the problem arose when Eskom bumped the schedule to higher stages from Stage 5 to 8 which saw the two hours repeating itself frequently, often with some customers shed twice in six hours.
“The reality we find ourselves in during load shedding is that the higher the stages, the more frequent the blocks are shed, with some shed for at least 10 hours in stage 6,” said Mangena.
He said following complaints from members of the public, they had now “listened” and hoped the new solution would lessen the impact of load shedding.
“We took the advice from some of the residents, councillors and experts to rather bring back the four hour consecutive hours of loadshedding in the higher stages (5 - 8) than to have frequently two hours in short spaces of time.
“After managing to re-align the blocks and reconfigure the network, we are pleased to announce that the team is ready to roll-out a new loadshedding programme that completely removes the 2-hour break problem in higher stages.
“The 4 consecutive hours of load shedding would be similar to what customers experienced under Eskom, although on some days, particularly on Stage 5 and 6, it will be less intense for City Power customers,” said Mangena.
IOL News