Eskom will reduce supply by 6GW until further notice after a generation unit at one of its newest coal-fired power stations broke down.
The move to continuously implement stage-6 load shedding, which means as much as 12 hours of blackouts a day, was announced by Eskom late on Wednesday evening and followed the breakdown of a unit at the Medupi power station. It is one of two giant coal-fired plants that have been under construction for more than a decade. The total cost of the two sites have ballooned to more than R460-billion from and original estimate of R163-billion.
Eskom announced Wednesday afternoon that it would ramp up outages to stage 6 for the first time since February in the afternoons and evenings, but had planned to reduce cuts to 5GW during the day.
It may take as long as five days to repair and install new power pylons that supply parts of South Africa’s capital, Beeld reported, citing Eskom’s acting spokeswoman, Daphne Mokwena.
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Seven high-tension electricity towers in the north-east of Tshwane municipality, which includes Pretoria, collapsed at the weekend, cutting power supplies to the area. That included Silverton, where Ford has a 720-vehicle-a-day assembly plant. The factory has already lost a full day of production, Fin24 reported, citing Neale Hill, president of Ford Africa.
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Theft and vandalism often hamper power supply as criminals target electricity infrastructure. — (c) 2023 Bloomberg LP