Eskom eases load shedding for the weekend – Here’s your schedule

After a gruelling week of Stage 5 and 6 load shedding, Eskom said power cuts would be reduced to Stage 2 and 4 over the weekend.

The news will certainly be welcomed by many South Africans wanting to catch a glimpse and cheer on the Springboks as they take on Romania in the 2023 Rugby World Cup match on Sunday.

The utility’s spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said Stage 4 load shedding was implemented at 2pm on Friday and  would continue until 5am on Saturday.

“Thereafter, Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 05:00 on Saturday until 16:00, followed by stage 4 until 05:00 on Sunday. This pattern will be repeated on Sunday.

“Eskom will publish another update should any significant changes occur,” Mokwena said.

Breakdowns

Mokwena said breakdowns were at 16 468MW while planned maintenance was at 4 601MW.

“Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit at Camden Power Station was taken offline for repairs. In the  same period a generating unit each at Arnot, Grootvlei, Kendal and Majuba power stations was returned  to service. 

“The anticipated return to service of a generating unit at Matla Power Station has been delayed, further  contributing to the current capacity constraints.   Eskom teams are working tirelessly to return these generating units to service,” Mokwena added.

Mokwena has appealed to the public to continue reducing demand by switching off non-essential appliances.

“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.”

ALSO READ: ‘We want to put load shedding behind us in 2024’ − Mashatile

End of load shedding

Meanwhile, as the country battles higher stages of load shedding, the Presidency said it was confident government was on track to end load shedding and achieve energy security.

Presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said the unnecessary breakdowns were being attended to.

“These higher stages of load shedding are primarily, as we all know, caused by a large number of megawatts being taken off the grid as a result of unplanned breakages,” Magwenya said.

ALSO READ: Eskom downgrades load shedding to stage 5 until further notice