SA Moves to Level 2 Restrictions, Eskom Fire Raises Load-shedding Risks

LOCAL NEWS

• SA moves to adjusted level 2 lockdown from level 3, with an extended curfew by 1hr, longer alcohol trading hours and increased gathering numbers among the changes.
  • Comes as a number of key metros exit their third wave of infections and case numbers decline. Ramaphosa said these restrictions would be reviewed in a fortnight, calling on SA citizens to get vaccinated
• Eskom's Kendal power station fire raises load-shedding fears after the Mpumalanga plant's unit 1 tripped due to a failure of the generator transformer and caught fire.
  • Two other units were also affected and subsequently shut down resulting in 1,800 megawatts of lost generation capacity.
  • Eskom has yet to say how this will affect the national grid, but energy expert Yelland says the power situation remains tight. Eskom said Unit 2 & 3 would return to operations this week
• Businesses continue to weigh up mandatory vaccination. While groups like Discovery and Sanlam have moved to make Covid vaccination mandatory for employees and people entering their premises, other companies, like Momentum, have shied away from the policy.
  • However, protocols and changes are in place to deal with the unvaccinated or those who refuse to get the jab – such as shifting jobs around or putting client-facing anti-vax workers in the back office.
  • Whether vaccination is mandatory or not, workers who refuse to vaccinate will face some consequences
• SA reports 3,961 new cases & 126 deaths