Load shedding suspended – but it will be back
Power utility Eskom has suspended load shedding on Tuesday due to improved generation – but outages will be back in the evening.
The group said that load shedding will be suspended from 09h00 on Tuesday until 16h00. Thereafter, stage 3 will resume as previously communicated.
Stage 3 will continue until 05h00 on Wednesday – but more changes could be on the way.
Eskom said that it is closely monitoring the system performance and will make updates as the situation changes. Further announcements are expected later in the afternoon.
The change in direction of load shedding stands in stark contract to the same time last week when the utility was forced back to stage 6 load shedding.
Blackouts eased towards the weekend, where lower demand also allowed for load shedding to be suspended.
Eskom said that a combination of improved generating performance, as well as managing to keep unplanned outages low, has given it room to cut load shedding.
Unplanned outages are currently at 13,577MW – below the target of 15,000MW, and far below the 20,200MW “worst case scenario” outlined in its latest system report.
Based on the previous week of outages, Eskom’s latest 52-week forecast showed that the group anticipates hitting at least stage 2 load shedding for the next year.
However, the group’s forecasts and reports are a moving target, based on a 7-day trend. With this week showing a much better performance, future system outlooks might show a better forecast.
The relief also comes as Kusile Power Station’s Unit 4 has returned to service, bringing back 800 megawatts, which was taken off during the unit’s 20-day planned maintenance.
Minister in the Presidency for Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said on Sunday that other units at Kusile would be returning sooner than expected, which would put the country on better footing in the last quarter of the year.
Units 1, 2 and 3 of the power station located in Mpumalanga were put offline due to a flue-gas desulphurisation (FGD) mechanism that was damaged in October last year. This affected stacks at the units.
These are now expected to come online between October and the end of November 2023.
“We’ve been able to shed a month on the return of unit 3, and the expectation is that we should be able to return this unit by 14 October. The same is applicable for unit 1. We should be able to get it on 30 October,” he said.
Schedules
For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Ekurhuleni
- City of Tshwane
- City of Cape Town (PDF)
- Nelson Mandela Bay
- eThekwini
- Manguang
- Buffalo City
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.
Read: Code Red at Eskom
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