Eskom announces changes to weekend load shedding schedule

Eskom has now announced that load shedding will take place throughout the weekend, meaning power will be switched off from 08:00 until 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday.

“This is done to preserve the current diesel stocks and an attempt to contain the amount of load shedding,” said the parastatal in a statement.

Eskom technicians continue to monitor the system closely and will adjust the load shedding stages as and when necessary.

A ship containing diesel supplies is expected to dock on Monday and will offload its cargo
through Tuesday.

“If the current burn rate persists, diesel would be depleted ahead of the ship offloading,” warned Eskom.

A unit at the Duvha Power Station tripped on Friday afternoon, while a generating unit each at Tutuka
and Medupi power stations has been returned to service.

Three generation units are expected to service tomorrow. But this will not be sufficient to meet the higher demand during the cold front over the weekend.

“We currently have 3 405MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 481MW of capacity is
unavailable due to breakdowns,” explains Eskom.

The power utility is appealing to all South Africans to help limit the impact of load shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.

“Eskom would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect
the national grid. We, therefore, urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially
between 05:00 – 09:00 in the mornings and 16:00 – 22:00 in the evenings.

NOW READ: Level 2 warning: A wet and cold weekend ahead for most of SA