The irony of Eskom ‘keeping us in the dark’ about the power supply isn’t lost on any of us at the best of times. However, the utility is facing some serious accusations this week, after a leading energy expert accused them of secretly pushing a Stage 6 load shedding schedule through – while billing it as Stage 4 cuts.
Why Eskom is accused of ‘pushing through’ Stage 6 load shedding
The extraordinary allegation comes from veteran analyst Ted Blom. He says that Eskom took around 5 000 MW off the grid during the volatile outages at the beginning of September, which is enough missing power to plunge South Africa into the darkest depths of our rolling blackouts. Blom believes the firm has lied to its customers:
“Eskom lied. I checked the statistics at the beginning of September and I was surprised to see that the daily statistics were far higher as far as load shedding and load reduction was concerned as compared to the stages they were announcing to the public. I saw that they load shedded up to 5 000 MW, and under their own rules, that is Stage 6.“
Ted Blom
#Eskom According to the utility’s own descriptions, this amounts to stage 6 rolling blackouts. Blom says he has evidence to prove that the utility has not been honest with the public. ML
— EWN Reporter (@ewnreporter) September 16, 2020
In the news for all the wrong reasons… again
That’s not the only PR nightmare Eskom will be facing on Wednesday, either. The SOE has come in for a wave of criticism after acquiring 139 farms as part of a deal to settle debts with a defaulting municipality. Now in possession of R2.5 billion worth of land in Free State, Eskom’s intentions have been called into question.
Meanwhile, more load shedding has been reported in KZN, leaving 10 regions without electricity:
#KZN Power Outage Notice#EskomKZN advises customers of extended power outages due to inclement weather in the following areas: Wartburg, Swayimane, Efaye, Bhamshela, Eston Mid Illovo, Ben Village, Vryheid, Madadeni and Stanger.
We apologise for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/HA7a05lTBf
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 16, 2020
Read the original article on The South African
