Admitting it neglected to order diesel to fire emergency power stations, leading to the weekend’s widespread load-shedding,
Eskom is urging South Africans to brace for power-supply troubles for at least the next 18 months.
The nationwide blackouts have economists worried about the effect on growth, and Monday’s announcement that there is no end in sight had political parties fuming about ineptitude.
Adding to Eskom’s diesel woes, a truck clearing rubble at the collapsed silo at the Majuba power station ripped through a cable, disabling three generating units.
Watch our video on what could have happened at Majuba by clicking here.
In addition to the 5,690MW taken down for planned regular maintenance, power station equipment broke down on Saturday shedding about 8,700MW from the grid, Eskom CE Tshediso Matona said at a press briefing on Monday.
The breakdowns aggravated an already precarious situation which Eskom had managed until last Thursday, when the latest wave of load-shedding started. However, Mr Matona denied the utility was in crisis mode.
“Eskom is not a company in crisis,” he said. “What there is, is just a series of problems. We’re dealing with the issues, there are solutions for all these issues.”
Read the full article here: http://www.bdlive.co.za/business/energy/2014/12/09/shedding-eskom-ran-out-of-cash-for-diesel
