The City of Cape Town has appealed to residents to help reduce the risk of load-shedding intensifying this winter, by reducing the overall demand for power.

Officials say Eskom’s move to Stages 5 and 6 load-shedding is highlighting the risks faced as South Africa moves into the colder, winter months when demand increases.

This places additional pressure on Eskom’s power supply. City customers can help alleviate this pressure by reducing usage and switching off electrical appliances prior to load-shedding to reduce the occurrence of prolonged power outages.

The City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Councillor Beverley van Reenen says they are monitoring the Eskom situation non-stop, and already they are seeing the impact of the colder and shorter days with Eskom not being able to meet the demand.

While the City plans to provide load-shedding protection of up to two stages during the day until 22:00 at night, it may not always be possible, especially if demand spikes.

She says not switching off appliances only add to the problems:

‘We have also seen new trends associated with the colder temperatures, when power usage is usually higher. For instance, if electrical appliances aren’t switched off prior to load-shedding, it could take longer to restore power after load-shedding. This is as the ‘come back’ load is much too high to restore at once. If everyone’s electrical appliances and lights have been left on prior to load-shedding, it causes surges and further outages when everything comes back on at the same time. We ask customers to please switch off prior to load-shedding.’

What’s currently driving power spikes?

• No switch offs, so the ‘come back’ load is too high.
• Winter sun setting earlier during peak hours, thus more customers are switching from solar to municipal supply.
• Uninterrupted power supplies (UPS) start charging immediately when the power returns. Please switch off ahead of power returning.

City’s plans to protect residents from load-shedding:

• The City’s biggest power tender, a 500 MW dispatchable energy tender, was issued on 6 April 2023.
• Phase 1 of the 200 MW renewable energy from IPPs tender: Contracts for this phase remain on track for final awarding within 2023.
• Power Heroes Programme tender: Awarding of contracts for preferred bidders expected in April. This is an initiative to unlock incentives for residents through third parties for voluntary energy savings, which will entail automated remote switching off of power-intensive devices at peak times.
• Cash for Power feed-in tariff increased by 10,15% for 2023/24, plus 25c per kWh incentive: Cape Town is the first city in the country to offer households and businesses cash for their excess rooftop solar power.
• A Request for Information has been issued asking the market for energy trading solutions, including market operation and underwriting services, energy aggregation services and other services related to energy trading platforms. This is to support the City’s load-shedding protection programme.

The City has also asked residents to be mindful of the impact load-shedding has on municipal infrastructure, including the risk of secondary tripping and cable theft, and to make use of the many electricity savings tips at their disposal.

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