It has been mentioned in the media that Covid-19 is having a large impact on Eskom. The impact has been felt on its operations as up to 75% of their staff have fallen ill. This has been the case, despite the stringent measures they have put in place to manage the impact of the second wave. Eskom has experienced some trouble with its operations, as well as some of its suppliers. This in turn resulted in Eskom needing to implement load shedding level 1 and level 2 because of its vulnerable and over worked system.
First wave
The biggest impact that Corona has had on Eskom, particularly during the first hard lockdown, was the drop in demand. As such, during this lockdown period Eskom saw a major decline in demand. This makes perfect sense as many, if not all large businesses were not operating at 100% capacity. The company choose to use this time to schedule much needed maintenance and to take some of their units off the grid. However, the utility company also mentioned that, because of the pandemic, long-term maintenance plans were put on hold. While this may seem a contradiction in terms, the utility company choose to focus on the most urgent repair before addressing long-term maintenance plans.
Second wave
Eskom has also warned that it plans on implementing load shedding through to September 2021. This is to be done to ease the burden on the already constrained grid. It is experiencing generation issues, and these have been compounded by it being forced to take unit one of Koeberg offline earlier than planned for scheduled maintenance. This was deemed necessary after Eskom noticed that on one of three steam generators the leak rate was increasing. It does appear that load shedding is here to stay – with or without the Coronavirus. While the numbers surrounding the virus have taken a down turn, and the arrival of much needed vaccines, it seems that Eskom remains affected. To ensure continued productivity in your workplace, or to keep your home running, consider investing in a generator. Load shedding affects all our businesses, from fridges, machinery, computers, and, in some cases, phones. With a generator on standby, you’ll have the peace of mind knowing that you can continue with your workday, without having to wait for the power to be switched on.
Thinking of purchasing a generator to combat load shedding? Speak to Generators Parts today for more details on how we can assist or shop online.
