CAUGHT OFF GUARD
ESKOM’S load shedding has not only left city residents scurrying to prepare for power cuts, but it also put a damper on the start of the matric exams, with 26 centres in the Northern Cape affected by the power cuts.
And the bad news is that, according to reports received, there is a possibility that the latest round of load shedding, which was blamed on a lack of generational capacity, would last at least a week.
The 2019 National Senior Certificate examinations started yesterday with Computer Application Technology (CAT).
Northern Cape Department of Education spokesperson Geoffrey van der Merse said that a total of 1 274 candidates were registered to write CAT yesterday at 64 centres in the Northern Cape.
“However, the announcement by Eskom to implement load shedding was very unfortunate,” Van der Merwe added.
“In the Northern Cape, 26 centres were affected; however the unforeseen load shedding did not compromise the credibility of the Computer Applications Technology (CAT) examination.
“The centres utilised their own generators where the power/electricity was disrupted. The candidates were able to complete their examination without delay.”
According to Van der Merwe, where centres did not have generators, the candidates were quarantined under supervision and continued with their examination when the power/electricity was restored. “The candidates were given extra time to compensate for the lost time due to the electricity disruption.”
The parliamentary portfolio committee on basic education also “noted with grave concern” yesterday’s load shedding announcement made by Eskom.
“This is especially in light of pupils writing their 2019 practical Computer Applications Technology National Senior Certificate (NSC) examinations,” committee chairperson, Bongiwe Mbinqo-gigaba, said.
“This is a cause for concern because CAT is a practical examination that is done on a computer. We would like to appeal to Eskom to be cognisant of this fact when decisions of load shedding are made and implemented.
“It has been reported that load shedding affected matric pupils at some centres,” Mbinqo-gigaba added. “The NSC examinations are normally a very stressful period for our young people. When something like this happens and the examination must be halted, only to be continued when the electricity supply is restored, it can add to more stress,” Mbinqo-gigaba pointed out.
Today, registered pupils will sit for their Information Technology practical exam.
In its announcement that it would be implementing load shedding yesterday morning, Eskom said that the electricity system had been severely constrained this week.
“As a result of the loss of additional generation, delays in the return to service of units that are on planned maintenance and limited diesel supply, it has become necessary to implement stage 2 rotational load shedding from 9am until 11pm in order to protect the power system from a total collapse,” the power utility said yesterday morning.”
It added that in its System Status Briefing of September 4, it warned that in order to avoid load shedding, unplanned breakdowns needed to be contained at below 9 500MW.
The severe supply constraint being experienced has, according to Eskom, come about due to high levels of unplanned breakdowns that have exceeded the 10 500MW limit.
“The supply constraint is caused by, among others, five generating units that are unavailable due to boiler tube leaks. In addition, a conveyor belt supplying Medupi Power Station with coal failed on Saturday (October 12), resulting in low volumes of coal being supplied to the power station, thus limiting the generating capability to approximately half the station’s output.”
Due to the shortage of generating capacity from coal-fired generation, the pumped storage and OCGT generators have been used extensively since Saturday, which has led to a decline in the dam levels and diesel tank levels.
“We unreservedly apologise to South Africans for the negative impact this may have on them and want to assure the nation that we continue to work tirelessly to ensure security of energy supply.”
Eskom customers were further urged to continue to use electricity sparingly throughout the day, including:
• Setting air conditioners’ average temperature at 23ºc;
• Switching off geysers over peak periods;
• Using the cold water tap rather than using the geyser every time;
• Setting swimming pool pump cycles to run twice a day, three hours at a time for optimal energy use; and
• At the end of the day, turning off computers, copiers, printers and fax machines at the switch. Avoid stand-by or sleep mode.
Freedom Front Plus MP and chief spokesperson on Public Enterprises, Wouter Wessels, meanwhile said that it is unacceptable that Eskom denied the possibility of load shedding when concerns were raised last month.
“This dishonesty regarding an extremely serious matter is alarming and one is justified in wondering just how extensive the power problem really is.”
He pointed out that Eskom had given South Africa just a few hours’ warning that load shedding was imminent. “Businesses, factories and everyone else who is dependent on electricity had no opportunity to prepare for the consequences of power outages.
“The public was clearly misled about the seriousness of the problem and the people who are responsible for this deception must be held accountable for their dishonesty.” He stated further that the extent of the damage done to South Africa’s economy was immeasurable.
“Ironically enough, this comes at a time when President Cyril Ramaphosa is trying to convince foreign investors that South Africa is a good and safe place to invest – this is probably the reason why Eskom was dishonest in this regard.”
According to the party, the cause of the load shedding was a “combination of a number of negative factors like poor planning, which is mainly attributable to a lack of expertise due to affirmative action (AA) and the fact that any kind of turnaround strategy is at the mercy of the actions and demands of trade unions”.