Eskom says likelihood of load shedding low for weekend

Eskom says there is a low probability of load shedding over the weekend as South Africa readies to take on Wales in the Rugby World Cup semi-finals.

South Africa is set to play Wales at 11am SA time on Sunday in Yokohama, while England take on reigning champions New Zealand in the first semi-final at 10am on Saturday at the same venue.

The power utility, in a morning power alert, said load shedding was also not expected on Friday.

“The probability of load shedding is low for the weekend and the following week.”

The utility said it had made “significant progress towards full recovery” after unscheduled plant breakdowns and damage to a coal conveyor belt feeding Medupi power station caused capacity to plummet.

It added that, while generating plant performance has improved, an unexpected shift such as an increase in unplanned breakdowns could result in load shedding at short notice.

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