Eskom reduces load shedding to stage 2 from Saturday

Eskom has announced that load shedding will move to stage 2 from 12pm on Friday until further notice.

Stage 2 load shedding

The struggling power supplier said the downgrade in load shedding was because of improvements in generation capacity over the past day.

“Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 12pm midday today until further notice. Eskom will provide an update as soon as any significant changes occur,” said Eskom.

This comes after the blackouts schedule was reduced from stage 4 to stage 3 on Wednesday afternoon.

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Power stations performing at 70% EAF

On Thursday, Eskom said it has experienced significant improvement in the performance of its coal-fired power stations over the past week.

Six coal-fired power stations managed to achieve an energy availably factor (EAF) of 70%. This is the first time this has happened since 8 May 2022.

“Three of these power stations, Camden, Duvha and Matla, have been on a sustained upward trend as a result of a reduction of plant breakdowns and the return to service of a number of units that were on unplanned breakdowns,” Eskom said.

“Lethabo, Marimba and Medupi have been experiencing continued good performance and remain among Eskom’s three best performing stations.”

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It added that the Lethabo Power Station continued to perform well despite experiencing a “wet coal incident” the previous week. This was caused by flooding after heavy rainfall.

‘All-hands-on-deck approach’

“While this is still early progress, it shows a positive trajectory from actions taken to recover Eskom generation plants. This is consistent with Eskom’s target to achieve 70% EAF by 2025 financial year,” said Eskom’s Acting Group Chief Executive, Calib Cassim.

Eskom board chairperson Mpho Makwana said the improvement at the power stations is due to an “all-hands-on-deck approach” that has been adopted by Eskom’s employees.

“I specifically commend the various teams at these power stations for the great work and also applaud all the Eskom employees for their continued hard work and dedication,” added Makwana.

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