Loadshedding: Professor Quentin Campbell from North West University explains the recent developments

Loadshedding: Professor Quentin Campbell explains the recent developments

Prof Campbell is the North West University director of Chemical Engineering and an expert on coal. He talks to East Coast Breakfast about load shedding, wet coal and Eskom.

Eskom_AFP
AFP

With the recent escalation from Stage 4 to Stage 6 load shedding, South Africans are not happy about spending their festive season in darkness.

In Eskom's statement on Monday, they said: "We regret and sincerely apologise that stage 4 load shedding will move to Stage 6 load shedding as from 18:00 today, as a result of a shortage of capacity. This follows a technical problem at Medupi Power Station impacting additional generation supply. The heavy rains have caused coal handling and operational problems at several power stations."

Professor Quentin Campbell, who was experiencing load shedding at the time of the interview, shared his opinion on the latest developments with Darren, Keri, and Sky, as well as what should be done to resolve the issue.

He also explained that poor maintenance and a lack of planning are among the reasons we are experiencing such severe load shedding, as well as the wet coal that contributes to not having electricity.

He mentioned Eskom didn't handle the 'wet coal' issue correctly. Alternative green power solutions should be looked into. Listen to the podcast below for the full interview.

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