On Wednesday, Eskom announced its decision to take over the loadshedding of customers in the City of Ekurhuleni.
UPDATE: On Friday, 28 July 2023, Eskom reversed its decision to take over City of Ekurhuleni’s loadshedding schedule. See the full statement below.
Here’s why Eskom is taking over City of Ekurhuleni loadshedding schedule
This move comes after the municipality failed to comply with the rules and regulations governing loadshedding, posing challenges to the national grid’s stability.
City of Ekurhuleni’s Non-Compliance
In a statement, Eskom cited the City of Ekurhuleni’s inability to reduce the required load during a system emergency as the reason for its intervention.
Despite numerous engagements with the municipality regarding loadshedding, Eskom observed that the city was not adhering to load reduction regulations, leading to strains on the national grid.
“Although Eskom notes the city’s technical challenges in executing load shedding, it is left with no choice but to implement load shedding for the city as its non-compliance puts further strain on the already contained national grid,” Eskom explained.
Eskom’s Assumption of Control
Effective Tuesday, 25 July 2023, Eskom took over the implementation of loadshedding for all customers in the City of Ekurhuleni.
Previously, the city was allowed to load shed only those substations supplying critical loads. However, upon the municipality’s request, Eskom handed over the responsibility of loadshedding all customers in the area.
The mounting pressure on the national grid compelled Eskom to escalate loadshedding to Stage 5 on Monday, 24 July 2023.
Currently, Eskom’s loadshedding schedule was implemented at a constant Stage 4, with no definite end in sight.