![]() ![]() ![]() The chances of us having a complete blackout in the national grid is totally remote,” he said. They have the diesel generators, they have the pump storage and they have some backup systems. “Eskom has indicated that IPPPs that have different power sources will be able to help bring capacity back to the grid. It is only when this careful balance is not maintained that the grid would collapse.Įnergy expert David Walwyn added that Eskom’s data proves that a complete blackout would be impossible, as the utility still has capacity to keep the power stations running. The utility uses the measure to maintain the balance between power generated and demand. ‘Total havoc’Īnalysts who spoke to the Mail & Guardian agreed that a collapse of the grid is unlikely, given Eskom’s load-shedding efforts. The department did not comment on whether it had a plan in place in the event of a blackout. On Monday, the department of public enterprises noted in a statement that in the week prior, 18 seasoned energy specialists re-entered the Eskom system to assist with operations. Mantshantsha announced that Eskom shed close to 7 000MW, associated with stage seven, from the grid on Monday evening. The system deteriorated so badly that we had moved beyond the stage six as announced, townships like Soweto for example felt the most impact,” he said. “ the utility announced that it is placing the country on level six, but early this week and during the weekend, some places had reached stage eight and some stage seven. He said although the utility announced that the country was in stage six load-shedding earlier this week, the total loss of megawatts indicated higher levels. Eskom is in the process of placing these skilled individuals in the correct positions to assist with the recovery of plants”.īut another Eskom employee said the utility has been downplaying the extent of the crisis. The utility, Mantshantsha said, “has been receiving great feedback and people making themselves available to assist in the critical skills. The Eskom spokesperson also downplayed concerns regarding the utility’s skills deficit, which has been the subject of a number of public statements by its chief executive André de Ruyter. The last of these was successfully conducted in August, and conducted by suitably qualified staff, he said. That is why you see Eskom always getting new external engineers every time the crisis gets out of control.”īut according to Mantshantsha, Eskom’s black-start facilities are tested regularly as required by the regulations governing the provision of electricity. ![]() The employee added that consequently, the utility is left with unskilled workers “who panic when the system fails because they do not have an idea what to do. “Lack of experience is a serious challenge here because we have senior engineers that sign a contract that for the duration that they are hired for, they should transfer their knowledge and skills to younger engineers and operators, however we are stuck with engineers that are not skilled because the transaction did not happen.” “The same engineers run the blackstart system,” one source said. This plan involves its four black-start facilities, which would be used to restore energy to a power station without relying on the external transmission network to recover from a shutdown.Īn Eskom employee who cannot be named confirmed that the utility faces a challenge of skilled engineers who know how to run the systems. Though unprecedented and improbable, Eskom does have a plan in the event that a black out does occur. It is regrettable that this unplanned outage due to multiple trips of units has cast doubts on Ramaphosa’s energy plan, Magwenya added. “More importantly, the focus is on getting maintenance to be conducted properly and on time in order to stabilise the grid and provide a reliable energy supply.” “Currently there’s no evidence to demonstrate that we are heading towards a national blackout,” President Cyril Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said. Seized with remedying the country’s current load-shedding woes, the presidency would not directly comment on whether a plan exists if a blackout were to engulf the country. Subscribe to the M&G today for just R30 for the first three months* to gain access to this story and all our best journalism, subscriber-only newsletters, events and a weekly cryptic crossword.”Įskom’s ageing power stations have crumbled after years of poor maintenance and a skills deficit now threatens efforts to revive the ailing utility. Support the journalism that helps you navigate your world ![]()
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