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Eskom has announced that load shedding will be reduced to stage 4 from Sunday afternoon.
The country was thrust into stage 6 power cuts on Friday.
The parastatal‘s spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the implementation of stage 6 power cuts over the past few days has allowed the replenishment of the emergency reserves at our pumped storage and Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) power stations.
“Due to this improvement, load shedding will be reduced to stage 4 from 12:00 midday until 05:00 on Monday. Thereafter, Stage 3 will be implemented from 05:00 until 16:00 on Monday, followed by stage 4 from 16:00 until 05:00 on Tuesday.
“This pattern of implementing Stage 3 loadshedding in the morning and Stage 4 load shedding in the evening will be repeated daily until Thursday,” Mokwena said.
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Mokwena said Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate any changes should it be required.
“Unplanned outages are currently at 15 386MW of generating capacity, while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 5 617MW. Approximately 2 500MW of generating capacity is anticipated to return to service by Tuesday evening.
“Eskom teams are working tirelessly to ensure that this additional generating units are returned to service as soon as possible,” Mokwena said
Mokwena added that Eskom’s forecast for the evening peak demand is 25 989MW.
“We would like to thank those who do heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers and pool pumps from 17:00 to 21:00, as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of load shedding,” she said.
Minister of Electrcity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is expected to provide an update on the electricity generation performance on Sunday following the implementation of stage 6 load shedding by Eskom on Friday.
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