More power cuts on cards
Eskom warns electricity might be out on weekend
THE country’s power utility yesterday warned of possible outages this weekend amid a growing energy crisis. Eskom said: “We are concerned about [Friday] and into the weekend, where we may have a possible shortfall, but we will provide updates to the public if there are any changes to the state of the system.
“The electricity system is still constrained, especially during the peak periods in the evening when people come home from work and get to use their electrical appliances.”
Eskom would not issue outage schedules, saying this depended on municipalities.
The power utility referred the Daily Dispatch to their website to access a schedule for the Buffalo City Metro.
However, it warned that the schedules were not maintained by Eskom but municipalities.
Neither BCM nor the Mthatha-based King Sabata Dalindyebo (KSD) were able to forward their schedules for planned outages yesterday.
When a copy of the BCM schedule obtained from Eskom was sent to spokesman Keith Ngesi, he said: “I think this is old.
“As the metro we don’t have any information on load-shedding for this weekend yet.”
Ngesi indicated that their technicians received schedules from Eskom just 20 minutes before power cuts would be effected.
He said this was not a conducive situation but their hands were tied.
“Our technicians rely on Eskom and we have to use other ways to communicate schedules to customers. We use social media, radio, internal communication via e-mails, and loud-hailing,” Ngesi said.
KSD municipal spokesman Sonwabo Mampoza also said the municipality depended on Eskom for schedules.
“We normally get communication 20 to 30 minutes before outages. We then have to use social networks, print, electronic or any other media.”
Mampoza said the municipality also made use of its ward councillors to get the message out to the consumers.
O R Tambo Chamber of Business president Vuyisile Ntlabati said communication was the biggest concern regarding the outages.
“The impact of these unplanned outages is costing businesses, especially small businesses that sell [perishable] food. Businesses find it difficult to find alternative ways to get power like generators.
“Other businesses send employees away and a few hours later, power comes back again. As long as we are in the dark, we cannot work to react on these outages.”
Border-Kei Chamber of Business executive director Les Holbrook said Eskom has problems in maintaining their momentum on power generation. He said some of these are attributed to coal supply, conveyor breakdowns and latterly cracks in coal bunkers, has caused serious feed issues into the boilers themselves.
Holbrook said the impact on businesses over weekends would be slightly less compared to weekdays.
“Most commercial undertakings have five days a week – so weekends are not too heavily affected.
“But there is the manufacturing and retail and hospitality sector affected.”
Critical therefore is a schedule of interruptions that is fair and equitable. Some section of the Metro must take their turn. However, Chamber has no qualms with West Bank and Wilsonia being exempt.
“What has exacerbated matters is the constant breakdown of BCMM’s aging infrastructure,” said Holbrook. “As mentioned earlier, the disruptions to industry is harmful and as a rule of thumb the effect is twice the length of the interruption. That is a two-hour interruption to industry is four hours lost.”
Yesterday, the ANC said there is no power crisis in SA.
During a snap debate on Eskom yesterday two ANC MPs played down recent events around the power utility which have included three days of rolling blackouts, the collapse of a coal silo at Majuba power station and poor financial results.
“I want to say there is no crisis,” ANC MP Dipuo Letsatsi-Duba told the National Assembly.
She was echoed by Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown, who called the situation “a challenge”.
This despite Eskom’s own CEO admitting this week “we are living on the edge”.
And Brown added yesterday the problems currently being experienced could go on for another two years. “The next few years are going to be tough,” she said. — With additional report by Bianca Capazorio