Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed exasperation and disappointment over the most recent implementation of Stage 3 loadshedding by Eskom over the weekend starting March 7, saying there should be consequences for the recent failures at the utility.

Having reduced rotational power cuts dramatically since early 2024 after an intense few years when loadshedding was implemented almost daily, Eskom has again resorted to using the growth- and confidence-sapping practice three times since January 31.

On February 23, it shocked the nation by declaring Stage 6 loadshedding after a transformer failure at Majuba resulted in all of the station’s six units tripping, and an underfrequency “domino effect” arising after two Camden units also tripped, triggering the disconnection from the grid of a unit at Medupi.

In a departure from his usually supportive tone of the Eskom leadership and management, the Minister argued that the most recent “set back” was the result of “non-technical” issues, which he attributed indirectly to complacency.

While expressing his full confidence in the board led by Mteto Nyati, Eskom CEO Dan Marokane and head of generation Bheki Nxumalo, who all flanked him at the March 8 briefing, he did not hide is displeasure in Eskom’s recent performance.

He was especially unhappy with the fact that unplanned breakdowns had increased in recent weeks to levels that were more in line with 2023 than during the 311 consecutive loadshedding-free days that continued from March 26 last year to January 31 this year.

“I will not sit back and watch, something must give,” Ramokgopa said, indicating that he intended resuming his regular visits to individual power stations, as he had done during the early part of his tenure as then Minister in the Presidency.

“It’s important that, where there are missteps, we are able to correct them, and where there has to be casualties, there will be casualties,” the Minister added.

NO LONGER BUSINESS AS USUAL

Likewise, Nyati acknowledged that Eskom “seemed to be moving in the wrong direction” and said it could, thus, no longer be business as usual for the board.

The board’s business operations performance subcommittee would be directed to fully interrogate the reasons being offered for the most recent failures, which included scheduled slippages to planned maintenance that was under way as part of the utility’s summer maintenance campaign.

“The leaders must lead, the managers must manage and the operators must operate.

“If a person is unable to do that, maybe we find a way to support them to be able to do their job, or maybe they are in the wrong job,” Nyati said bluntly.

Marokane attributed the rise in unplanned breakdowns in recent weeks to several schedule slippages in the implementation of its planned maintenance programme.

This had pushed unplanned losses to levels well above the 13 000 MW threshold set for avoiding loadshedding in the utility’s summer plan. By March 7, unplanned breakdowns had increased to about 18 000 MW.

The latest supply/demand deficit had been exacerbated by the tripping of Koeberg Unit 2 on Sunday March 2, after which two separate “defects” had been detected, which prevented Eskom from returning the nuclear unit as planned by Wednesday March 5.

No further details were provided regarding the nature of the problems, but Marokane said Unit 2 was currently scheduled to return by Monday.

Koeberg Unit 1, meanwhile, is undergoing a 150-day extended maintenance and refuelling outage as part of work being done in line with it having secured a licence to operate for a further 20 years.

The two Kusile units that had been affected by what Eskom described as “sub-optimal” coal operations following recent heavy rain storms in the area, had been returned to service by Saturday morning.

Eskom has yet to provide its winter outlook, but has indicated that planned maintenance will begin tapering by the end of March in anticipation of higher demand.

The reserve margin could also be bolstered by the completion of Kusile Unit 6, which is scheduled for its initial introduction at the end of March, and the return of Medupi Unit 4, in late March or early April.

Eskom still expects to end this latest loadshedding episode by 5:00 on Monday, March 10.