Eskom has announced that load shedding will be reduced to stage 1 from stage 2 as of today.
Stage 1 will continue until 5am on Saturday, as the power system remains severely constrained.
“Since Monday, Eskom teams successfully returned four generation units at Kusile, Grootvlei, Kriel and Matla, as well as the Cahora Bassa line from Mozambique. However, this has not been sufficient to suspend load shedding at this point.
“During this period, we have lost generation capacity at Medupi, Arnot and Komati power stations,” said the power utility.
Meanwhile, the delayed return to service of four other units is prolonging the need to continue implementing power cuts, and Eskom said it is working hard to return the units back to service as soon as possible.
The utility said 13 443MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. “This has led to our inability to supply the full demand.”
Eskom has once again reminded citizens that it will continue to implement reliability maintenance and as such, the system will continue to be constrained.
This means the possibility of load shedding remains elevated.
“Eskom requests the public to continue using electricity sparingly, as the system remains vulnerable and unpredictable, and we will communicate timeously, should there be any significant changes to the power system,” the company said. – SAnews.gov.za
