Top News of the Day: Eskom new generation capacity needed | Kendrick Lamar drops another clue for the highly anticipated album launch

In a media briefing on Wednesday, Eskom’s CEO André de Ruyter addressed load shedding and the new generation capacity of “between 4 000 MW and 6 000 MW of power” which must be added to the grid.

According to News24, Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF) is 62%, compared to a target of 74%. Acting generation chief Rhulani Mathebula said the current power plants “were not performing at full capacity”. Unplanned failures and Eskom’s scheduled repair strategy all contributed to the poor EAF.

In the next few weeks, Eskom will put two units back into service at the Kusile power station. Unit 2 at Koeberg is expected to be back in service by the end of June 2022. Unfortunately, this will only add 2,500MW to the system.

“Unit 2 at Koeberg, together with the two-generation units expected to return to service after modification and correction of the design defects on one unit and repairs to the flue gas desulphurisation technology on the other unit at Kusile, will significantly ease the demand pressure in time for the high winter demand. These Kusile units will add a combined 1,600MW to the power system, while Koeberg 2 will add another 920MW when it returns to service by the end of June.”

During the winter, Eskom plans to have 104 days of load shedding – an increase from the prior estimate of 101 days.

Meanwhile, in entertainment news, Kendrick Lamar revealed another clue for the “Mr. Morale & The Big Steppers” album launch. This time he posted a family photo on Instagram which consist of his longtime fiancée, Whitney Alford and his two children. The highly anticipated fifth studio album will be released on Friday. Lamar released the first hit “The Heart Part 5” and the music video last Sunday.