Eskom suspends loadshedding until 4pm on Monday

Power utility Eskom has announced the suspension of load shedding for Sunday.

The loadshedding will resume on Monday at 4 pm, Eskom said on its X account.

“This is to the return of some generating units to service since Friday and the sufficient emergency reserves.

“The alternating pattern of suspending loadshedding from 05:00 until 16:00 and implementing Stage 2 load shedding from 16:00 until 05:00 will be repeated daily until further notice,” it said on Sunday.

Not much loadshedding on weekend days

On Friday, the power said loadshedding would be suspended for most of the day on Saturday and Sunday.

READ: Eskom takes back control of load shedding in Ekurhuleni

This was due to the anticipated return to service of additional generating units over the weekend, said Eskom.

“Stage 2 loadshedding will continue to be implemented until 5am on Saturday. Thereafter, load shedding will be suspended until 4pm,” the utility said.

Furthermore, unplanned outages reduced to 13 921MW of generating capacity, while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is at 6 831MW.

“A total of 2 560MW of generating capacity is anticipated to be returned to service by Monday.
Eskom’s evening peak demand [on Friday night] is 25 095MW.

“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 5pm to 9pm or when the load is limited.

“This lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system, contributing to lower stages of load shedding.”

New CEO

Dan Morokane was announced as the new Eskom CEO in January. He had worked at Eskom for a few years before leaving in 2015.

He started his new role on 1 March.

Eskom board conveyed faith and optimism in Marokane’s abilities as well as those of the management and staff.

Board chairperson Mteto Nyati expressed the enthusiasm and excitement of Marokane’s colleagues about having him back at the power utility.

We expect Dan and his leadership team to accomplish at least two critical tasks. First, they must address the current business challenges. Load shedding must become a thing of the past.

“Second, they need to reposition and restructure Eskom to enable growth and sustainability,” said Nyati.

NOW READ: New CEO Dan Marokane has 100 days to start Eskom turnaround