Eskom, Hawks swoop on cable theft syndicate in Mpumalanga

Power utility Eskom reports that its investigators, along with members of the Vosman South African Police Service (SAPS) and the Hawks’ Serious Organised Crime Unit on March 8 arrested at least 14 suspects involved in alleged cable theft. The suspects were arrested during the raid of premises in Vosman, Mpumalanga. Large volumes of cables, comprising aluminium and copper, were found stored on multiple premises, including that of a scrap metal dealer.
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Diesel supply and pricing again under the spotlight as Eskom intensifies cuts to preserve reserves

Eskom has again issued a warning over the supply and pricing of diesel, which it has been consuming at extreme levels in recent days to cover for its underperforming coal fleet, the energy availability factor (EAF) of which has now slumped to below 60%. The State-owned utility deployed its open cycle gas turbine (OCGT) plants well beyond the peak periods for which they are designed on Monday and Tuesday, partly to replenish the upper dams at its pumped-storage schemes.
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IAEA concerned about the situation at Chernobyl nuclear site in Ukraine

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has reported that the remote safeguards monitoring systems at the ruined Chornobyl nuclear power plant (NPP) had ceased transmitting data. Chornobyl, better known by its Russian name Chernobyl, was the location of the world’s worst nuclear accident, in 1986. The Chornobyl site sits in an exclusion zone and contains both decommissioned reactors and radioactive waste facilities. Since February 24, it has been occupied by invading Russian forces. The working shift of some 210 personnel who were on duty at that time have not since been relieved or rotated and have effectively been sleeping at the NPP. Ukraine’s nuclear regulator has told the IAEA that the Chornobyl staff have access to food and water and to limited medication, but that communication was solely by email. All other communications with the NPP were down.    
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Stage 4 load-shedding kicks in on Wednesday morning

Eskom has announced that Stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented from 09:00 on Wednesday morning until 05:00 on Friday.  Thereafter load-shedding will be lowered to Stage 2 until 05:00 on Monday. 
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