The load shedding has been caused by a shortage of generation capacity owing to breakdowns and delays in returning some generating units to service.
“We currently have 4 588MW on planned maintenance, while another 16 142MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns,” Eskom said in a short statement issued a short while ago.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said the breakdown of a generation unit at Arnot, Duvha, Kendal, Medupi and Tutuka power stations, as well as the delays in returning to service a unit to service at Hendrina power station, have exacerbated the capacity constraints.
He said that on Saturday, Unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station tripped from full power during the routine testing of the control rod system.
“The process to return the unit to service is under way,” he added.
On Monday, Eskom announced the issuing of a tender, seeking service providers to assist in the automation of its spares and warehouse management processes in the generation division.
“Eskom said the tender announcement is for a bar-coding and radio frequency identification (RFID) solution within its generation warehouses. The tender advertisement was published in the Tender Bulletin on Eskom’s and on the National Treasury’s websites on August 31. The tender closing date is September 19,” Eskom said.
It added that the solution is expected to automate the current paper-based process to reduce incidents of stock pilferage, enhance stock accuracy and to increase productivity.
