Eskom Shifts to Stage 4 Load-Shedding as Reserves Deplete Faster than Can Be Rebuilt

LOCAL NEWS

• Eskom shifts load-shedding (rolling blackouts) to stage 4 from 0900 today -0500 on Friday in order to replenish emergency reserves before returning to stage 2 until 0500 on Monday. Units at Kendal, Duvha, Camden & Kusile stations tripped and need to use significant emergency reserves to return to output.
  • This is the 4th day of emergency reserve use and they are being depleted faster than they can be replenished – Eskom Statement. Running emergency diesel reserves is extremely expensive and will be increasing in cost with rising energy prices, adding risks to more bailouts from the Treasury with the load-shedding outlook for 2022 notably poor
• Rain and Telkom were the first winners in SA’s radio frequency spectrum auction held this week. The first opt-in auction was held between Cell C, Liquid Intelligent technologies, Rain, and Telkom, and excluded dominating players MTN and Vodacom.
  • Bids of R1.1 billion and R1.5 billion were put forward by Rain and Telkom, respectively. The main auction stage will begin on Thursday, 10 March 2022, using an online platform. Vodacom and MTN will join the other four operators in bidding for spectrum during this stage - MyBroadBand
• Changes SA’s proposed cannabis laws have been tabled in parliament, which will enable the government to push ahead with its plan to establish a new industrial sector valued at R28bn a year. Lawmakers hope to pass the amendments to the Cannabis for Private Purposes bill by the end of April.
  • The move follows an announcement by Ramaphosa in the latest State of the Nation address that the government was ready to push toward the legalisation and regulation of the commercial cannabis industry, which he said could create 130,000 jobs - Mail&Guardian