The broken promises to end Eskom’s load shedding has been tolerated by South Africans for years ever since power outages and distributions were implemented in 2007. However the only measure implemented to reduce the stressful impact of power interruptions among South Africans, is to create and publish schedules. The schedules are released ahead of numerous power interruptions across various regions and areas in South Africa.
How Effective is Eskom’s Load Shedding Strategy?
Needless to say, the condition only worsened despite 15 years of load shedding schedules, as Eskom is still citing the aging conditions of power plants as the only excuse. According to a reporter from Load Shedding .com, South Africans served by Camden, Kriel, Lethabo, Medupi, and Tutuka power power plants will continue to have longer power outages since there are delays in putting the said plants back into the power grids.
Moreover, the Loadshedding website reported that two months ago, Eskom had increased load shedding and power distribution levels from the previous Stage 2 to Stage 3 and subsequently to Stage 5 purportedly in connection with planned maintenance. The higher the stage level of course denotes shedding of larger amounts of electric current.
SA Pres. Promises to Intervene in Putting an End to Eskom’s Load Shedding
The energy crisis in South Africa has reached a point where SA President Matamela Cyril Ramaphosa announced plans of placing the country under a state of National Emergency. Many energy experts lauded the announcement as the best way to start in putting an end to Eskom’s load shedding strategy.
Doing so will place the power crisis under the management of the experts at the Energy Action Plan (EAP), the same government agency that managed the Covid-19 crisis in the country and the devastating flood that hit the eastern region last April. Actually, these are the first and second instances when Pres. Ramaphosa invoked the National Emergency Act to ensure that rapid and effective actions will be taken to address the said crises.
Cape Town Has More Ambitious Plans
South Africans, particularly in Cape Town are keeping their fingers crossed that Pres. Ramaphosa will make good on his promise of puting an end to load shedding. Actually, the city of Cape Town already controls and manages about 70% of electrical power used by residents.
Yet Eskom still has control of about 30%, which it uses for load shedding and power distribution across various regions. Cape Town officials are actually seeking to gain 100% control over electricity provisions for the city. The plan to do so is important since the city is on the verge of developments in becoming a leading digital technology and cultural hub of South Africa.