Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
25 February 2025 | 11:30 CAT
2 min read

South Africans are frustrated as Eskom escalated power cuts to Stage 6, the highest level of controlled load shedding. Although the country has since moved down to Stage 4, the uncertainty of reliable electricity remains a pressing concern.

The abrupt increase in load-shedding stages over the weekend left many questioning Eskom’s management of the crisis. On Saturday, Eskom announced Stage 3 power cuts, only to increase them to Stage 6 within hours. A media briefing held on Sunday indicated that Stage 6 could continue until the end of the week, though a slight reprieve has since brought the country back to Stage 4.

Energy expert Clyde Mallinson shared his insights with Radio Islam International, expressing disappointment rather than surprise at the return of severe load shedding. He pointed out that Eskom’s excessive use of diesel over the past few months was a clear warning sign.

He explained the crucial role of Eskom’s emergency reserves, including open cycle gas turbines that use diesel and pumped hydro storage, which allows water to be used for power generation. “Eskom has about 6,000 megawatts… six stages of load shedding of stuff that they can switch on and off. But the problem with the pumped hydro is when you empty it, you have to fill it again,” he noted

The rapid escalation of load-shedding levels, according to Mallinson, indicated that Eskom had depleted its reserves. “What I want to say now is the last week leading up to this, much higher levels of load shedding, we have been burning diesel like there was no tomorrow. So for the whole week, Eskom must have known or not known, but they were having to run their so-called peaking resources and emergency reserves through the night in many cases, and that is always a bad sign,” he said.

He criticised Eskom for delaying the implementation of load shedding, which ultimately led to a more severe crisis. “Quite frankly, we should have started having load shedding about a week earlier at a lower level because we were heading towards a bit of a crash,” he said.

Mallinson also dismissed Eskom’s reassurance that no engine failures had occurred, noting that auxiliary system failures are just as serious.

Looking ahead, he said that predicting the future of load shedding remains difficult, but he emphasised the need for faster renewable energy integration. “There are numerous occasions where we were running close to the edge. Instead of continually saying how well things were going, there are a number of processes that I think were not happening fast enough because we need to build new generation facilities much faster,” he said.

The situation remains precarious, with South Africans left wondering if the worst is yet to come. With Eskom’s reliance on emergency reserves and continued strain on the grid, energy security remains a major concern.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Energy expert Clyde Mallinson, here.