Vodacom and MTN have said the severe load shedding that Eskom has subjected South Africa to since last week is having a big impact on their networks.
have said the severe load shedding that Eskom has subjected South Africa to since last week is having a big impact on their networks, with flat batteries impacting service availability.
In Johannesburg, for example, where City Power normally cuts electricity during load shedding in two-and-a-half hour blocks, these blocks have now been extended to up to five hours each. “Despite us having placed thousands of batteries at our sites across the country, the efficacy of those batteries greatly reduces once we pass stage-4 load shedding,” Gamberini said in a statement.
“However, MTN is still faced with the challenge that the current outage schedule does not allow enough time for batteries to charge. Battery backup systems generally take 12-18 hours to recharge, while batteries have a capacity of about six to 12 hours, depending on the site category. Consistent outages therefore have a direct impact on the performance of the batteries, while consistent theft of the batteries themselves means replacements need to be installed.