South Africa’s power utility, Eskom, has successfully restored eight units at its power plants following extensive breakdowns over the weekend, which led to the highest stage of power cuts.
On Saturday February 22, Eskom implemented Stage 3 load shedding, cutting 3,000 megawatts from the national grid due to multiple failures at Majuba and Camden power stations. The company’s CEO, Dan Marokane, confirmed that six of the ten affected units were brought back online by Sunday February 23, with further recovery expected.
Eskom’s recovery efforts were described as progressing well, with an additional five to six units anticipated to return to service soon. Marokane expressed optimism that, given the pace of the restoration, the power cuts would likely be reduced by the end of the week. Early on Monday, Eskom announced that power outages would be downgraded to Stage 4, indicating a significant improvement in the grid’s capacity. Eskom’s ability to manage and restore power was seen as a positive sign, particularly after the disruptions caused by the breakdown of several ageing coal-fired units.
Eskom’s ongoing struggle with power outages is a result of persistent issues with its aging fleet of coal-fired plants, which remain the primary source of electricity in South Africa. While load shedding is a common feature in the country, Eskom’s ability to reduce the severity of these power cuts is critical to stabilizing the national grid. With the recent recovery, there is hope that Eskom can prevent further widespread outages and gradually return to a more stable energy supply.