Eskom to suspend load shedding on Friday afternoon

Eskom has announced that it will suspend load shedding from 12pm on Friday due to some generation units returning to service, helping to restore generation capacity to meet customer demands.

“Since Thursday morning Eskom teams have successfully returned to service a generation unit each at Duavh, Medupi, Kendal, Kriel and Kusile power stations. A further unit each is expected to return to service today at the Camden and Majuba power stations,” said spokesman Sikonathi Mantshantsha in a statement..

“Although we have also lost other units at Tutuka, Camden and Hendrina Power Stations, we have managed to adequately replenish emergency generation reserves. Eskom will also be taking the opportunity over the long weekend, due to the lower demand, to conduct short-term maintenance and to further replenish the emergency reserves in preparation for the week ahead.

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“We currently have 7 183MW on planned maintenance, while another 10 464MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. The improved generation availability, together with the lower long weekend demand, has enabled us to cancel load shedding at this point.”

The power utility has apologised to South Africans for the inconvenience suffered due to load shedding.

READ MORE: Load shedding ‘likely’ until December, says Eskom

As Eskom continues to implement reliability maintenance during this period, the system will continue to be constrained, and the possibility of load shedding remains high.

“Eskom requests the public to continue using electricity sparingly as the system remains vulnerable and unpredictable, and we will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power system,” said the power utility.

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