It was a cold evening out here in Joburg and just as we were warming up next to a heater and putting on a comfort movie to end the day…boom! Load shedding!
Didn’t prepare? Neither did we, because it was implemented with immediate effect on Monday evening after four generating units in Mpumalanga broke down earlier in the day. Loadshedding continued into Tuesday, and the rest of the week, after more power stations struggled with supply constraints.
The breakdown in units and power constraints were a result of torrential storms in Kwa-Zulu Natal coupled with the increased demand for electricity in parts of a chilly Gauteng over the weekend and well of course, the weak and age-old Eskom infrastructure.
Eskom said that while the system remains fragile, it will suspend load shedding over the long weekend, because it anticipates less demand, but the ghost might be back to haunt us next week. Ugh!
