Load shedding suspended until Monday. Photo" iStock
Eskom continues to be bearer of good news, announcing that load shedding will remain suspended at least until Monday.
The parastatal’s spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said there has been lower demand over the weekend which resulted in the suspension of load shedding.
“Due to sustained lower than expected electricity demand and improved generating capacity, load shedding will remain suspended from 16:00 today until 05:00 on Monday.
“Eskom will announce the outlook of the week ahead later today, and communicate should any significant changes occur,” Mokwena said.
The suspension of load shedding for an extended period comes after Eskom initially announced a short break from the power cuts on Sunday with stage 1 and 2 power cuts over the weekend.
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Eskom has been making significant progress in the maintenance of its power stations which has eased the pressure and hopefully load shedding.
Unit 5 of Eskom’s problematic Kusile power station was synchronised to the national grid for the first time at 5:22pm on Sunday, 31 December 2023.
The unit which was affected by a fire in 2022, is expected to contribute an additional 800MW to the country’s electricity grid, Eskom said.
This is good news for the country as Eskom struggles with generation capacity in its battle to keep the lighs on.
Eskom said unit 5 will supply electricity intermittently during the testing and optimisation phase over the next six months before being transferred into commercial operation and the capacity officially added to the current Eskom fleet.
Meanwhile, Eskom last week announced that the full load rejection test that was performed on Unit 1 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station was successfully completed.
This was the final test that needed to be performed following the installation of the new steam generators, in accordance with the South African Grid Code (SAGC) requirements.
Eskom said the purpose of the full load rejection test was to verify and demonstrate the ability of the unit to supply its auxiliary load and return to steady state conditions following a sudden disconnection from the national grid.
ALSO READ: Eskom’s Kusile fire-ravaged Unit 5 syncs to grid for first time
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