Eskom suspends load shedding until Monday afternoon

Eskom has given South Africans a reprieve from load shedding for the rest of Sunday.

The power utility announced that the rolling blackouts will remain suspended until 4pm on Monday. Stage 2 will kick in from 4pm until 5am on Tuesday.

Stage 2 starts in late afternoon

It said the lack of load shedding was due to “stable generating capacity, with breakdowns at 13 158MW and planned maintenance at 6 051MW of generation capacity”.

There will also be less severe load shedding on Tuesday and Wednesday, with the electricity only being cut at 4pm, lasting until 5am the next day.

“This pattern will be repeated daily until further notice. Eskom will communicate should any significant changes occur,” the power utility said.

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Less load shedding anticipated

The update from Eskom comes after Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa this week said less load shedding is anticipated as South Africa approaches the end of the year.

He said the grid was improving as demand for electricity decreases and planned maintenance increases.

However, the minister warned that maintenance and the upgrading of infrastructure was hindered by the debt Eskom was owed by municipalities.

“We know our municipalities owe Eskom upwards of R64 billion and that figure is increasing – the increase is over R4 billion, and there’s no sign of it stopping,” he said.

Ramokgopa also said illegal connections continue to put strain on the grid.

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Additional reporting by  Marizka Coetzer