File picture: Henk Kruger
ESKOM’S request for an update to a document on the power cut stages to allow for higher ones could be an indicator that higher stages of load shedding are in the offing.
Last week the power utility took over 7,000 megawatts of electricity off the grid with energy experts saying that Eskom quietly implemented load shedding above Stage 6.
According to Eskom’s calculations, 7,000 megawatts off the grid is the equivalent of Stage 7 power cuts.
Eskom’s response was that it has not surpassed Stage 6 recently.
In a statement on Thursday, Eskom acknowledged it was shedding 7,072 megawatts of electricity but described this as Stage 6 load shedding, coupled with Stage 4 curtailment.
Energy analyst Ted Blom said the grid may be in danger, adding that Eskom was managing the grid with a very low safety margin. The chances of a grid meltdown under those reckless management conditions are very high, Blom said.
In March, Eskom confirmed that it had requested an update of the NRS 048-9 code of practice document that currently describes load-shedding stages 1 to 8.
“The Eskom system operator requested the Nersa (National Energy Regulator of SA) document known as the NRS 048-9 to be updated to higher stages purely because at the time of development of the previous version, Stage 8 was not used, as we did not foresee getting there at the time.
“Lately there have been a lot of enquiries around what happens if we get to Stage 8, and hence we opted to expand the document to more stages, to provide certainty that Stage 8 is not the last level before a network collapse,” Eskom said.
The power utility added that only Nersa could adapt the document to provide for higher stages of load shedding.
“It is important to note that the current document stays as the official document until (it is) replaced by Nersa. We therefore cannot comment on the process that Nersa would follow to adapt the document. Eskom will only know what the final document entails once it has been adapted by Nersa.”
Nersa spokesperson Charles Hlebela had said the NRS Association of SA, which includes Nersa, Eskom, metropolitan municipalities, the Association of Municipal Electricity Utilities of Southern Africa, and the SA Bureau of Standards, was revising the NRS 048-9 code of practice document.
“However, Nersa will also take the document through its public consultation processes before approval.”