Energy experts have supported claims that Eskom, South Africa’s power utility, quietly imposed load shedding above stage 6 after it removed 7,000 megawatts of electricity from the grid. Eskom’s own measures state that 7,000 megawatts off the grid equates to stage 7 power cuts.
If expert opinion is to be believed, this means the country experienced stage 6 load shedding on Wednesday and stage 7 on Thursday before Eskom decreased it to stage 6 indefinitely.
Eskom, however, denies exceeding stage six in recent times. In a status update on Thursday night, the state-owned power utility admitted to shedding 7,072 megawatts of electricity but classified it as stage 6 load shedding coupled with stage 4 curtailment, which is when Eskom asks large energy users to reduce their power usage.
Energy analysts have criticised Eskom’s grid management, stating that the low safety margin increases the risk of a grid meltdown, with high demand and low generation capacity, the power utility’s woes are not expected to ease anytime soon.