South African national power utility Eskom has raised its controlled outages from "Stage Two" to "Stage Three", which means that the level of power cut will be raised from 2 GW to 4 GW. Stage Three is one level before a complete blackout. Rolling power cuts could continue on a daily basis in the next three years, as ageing power plants are struggling to meet power demand (about 30 GW).
Technical problems at the 900 MW Koeberg nuclear power plant (one unit taken out of service due to a technical fault for three month) add to an already strained power situation that started in November 2014 when five of the six 600 MW units at the Majuba coal-fired power plant were idled. Delays in the commissioning of the 4.8 GW Medupi and the 4.8 GW Kushile coal-fired power plants (to be commissioned between 2015 and 2018) will not alleviate the power supply.
South Africa is facing a soaring electricity demand (+15% between 2000 and 2007 when it peaked at 219 TWh) and is struggling to adapt its power infrastructure, dependent on polluting coal-fired power plants and obsolescent power grid. Between 2000 and 2008, only 1,800 MW were added; installations accelerated until 2013 (48 GW installed, i.e. 4.9 GW added since 2008).
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