Good morning. On Wednesday, Eskom hiked load-shedding so quickly it was as if the system imploded in a matter of seconds with nearly half of the total grid capacity wiped out, according to the power utility.
Around 47% of the total electricity system is down
Eskom hiked load-shedding to stage 6 on Wednesday for the fourth time this year, which means some users will be without power for as much as 10 hours a day. Total outages account for around 24,000 MW, which means 47% of the total system is down while 19,000 MW or 35% accounts for unplanned outages. Stage 6 is set to last until Friday morning and will cost the economy around R3 billion a day. Read more here. (Business Day, for subscribers)
Eskom scrambled to avoid stage 7 outages
There was planned maintenance scheduled for Koeberg power station’s unit 1, but Eskom called off the maintenance at the eleventh hour as it desperately scrambled to avoid an escalation of load-shedding that would have plunged the country into stage 7 blackouts. The delay to Koeberg 1 cannot be stopped indefinitely, however, as international contractor teams are already on-site and must meet deadlines. Eskom has never implemented stage 8 load-shedding, but the prospect looms large as outages persist. Read more here. (News24, for subscribers)
ANC calls for ‘decisive’ action on load-shedding
ANC spokesperson Pule Mabe said South Africans could no longer call on Eskom officials to act to resolve blackouts and that they should demand that the ANC act to end load-shedding. “We can’t keep on calling. We have called on Eskom… I think it’s now time for action because industries are affected, the media are being affected, the whole public life is being affected by this,” Mabe told reporters on Wednesday. Read more here. (The Citizen)
Here’s what else you need to know today:
Eskom plunges SA back into stage 6 load-shedding – Business Day
Load shedding crisis: ‘We have left it for too long and it’s too late’ – The Citizen
South Africa’s positive growth outlook post-Covid – BizNews
Elon Musk briefly loses title as world’s richest person to LVMH’s Arnault – Forbes – SABC News
Sanlam takes hit as it warns of profit decline – News24
Meta considered building a Twitter competitor: ‘Let’s go for their bread and butter – report – Business Insider
Markus Jooste’s insider trading fine cut by almost 90% to R20.5m – News24=
Abu Dhabi group may buy 60% stake in Vodacom, insiders say – News24
