Eskom is set to suspend load shedding this Sunday

March 17, 2023 Siyabonga Mtangana

After months of severe power cuts, the picture at Eskom is showing clear signs of improvement – so much so that the utility expects to suspend load shedding this Sunday.

With next Tuesday’s public holiday, Eskom is also expecting lower demand over what for many will be a long weekend. As a result, and coupled with improved performance in its power-generation plants, the company expects to be able to suspend load shedding between 5am and 4pm on Sunday and again on Tuesday.

“Due to some recovery in generation capacity over the past 48 hours and lower expected demand, load shedding will be reduced to stage 1 from 5am to 4pm on Saturday. Thereafter, load shedding will be increased to stage 2 until 5am on Sunday,” it said in a statement. It will then be suspended for 11 hours.

From 4pm on Sunday, the company expects to implement only stage-1 power cuts. This will continue until 4pm on Monday, when stage 2 will be implemented until 5am on Tuesday, Human Rights Day. No load shedding is currently expected during the day on Tuesday, with stage-2 cuts set to resume from 4pm on the public holiday.

Read: Nothing will save Eskom in its present configuration

Breakdowns are currently at 14.3GW of generating capacity, while 4.7GW of capacity is out of service for planned maintenance. “During the last 24 hours, a generating unit each at Camden power station and two units at Hendrina power station were taken offline for repairs,” Eskom said. – © 2023 NewsCentral Media