Power utlity Eskom says that load shedding will be downgraded to stage 5 on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Blackouts will move to stage 5 from 05h00 on Sunday morning and will remain at that level until further notice.<\/p>\n
Load shedding has been at stage 6 for almost an entire week – the longest stretch of such a high level since the January. Eskom also confirmed that over 7,000MW were removed from the grid at times, saying that load shedding hit stage 7.<\/p>\n
Former Eskom CEO Jacob Maroga said the power utility technically implemented stage 8 load-shedding this week, as any cuts above 7,000MW are stage 8.<\/p>\n
On 21 February and 22 February, Eskom\u2019s peak evening data showed that it implemented load-shedding of 7,045MW and 7,092MW, respectively.<\/p>\n
However, Eskom\u2019s head of generation, Thomas Conradie, has denied implementing stage 8 load-shedding<\/a><\/strong> despite the power utility\u2019s data showing that it cut over 7,000MW from the grid.<\/p>\n Conradie said in a press briefing that \u201cwe have not introduced stage 7, stage 8, or any higher stages of load-shedding\u201d.<\/p>\n He explained that they manage supply and demand. \u201cWhen we run out on the supply side, we have to manage demand,\u201d Conradie said.<\/p>\n He said the power utility could lean on load shedding and load curtailement – where big energy users are required to cut usage – to manage demand.<\/p>\n \u201cWhere we have seen higher than 6,000MW load-shedding, we have also introduced stage 4 load-curtailment. It can provide Eskom with up to 1,000MW, depending on the demand of those customers when it is implemented.<\/p>\n \u201cI can clearly state that we have not had load-shedding band creep or that we have introduced higher stages of load-shedding without notifying the public,\u201d Conradie said.<\/p>\n Conradie explained that the 7,045MW and 7,092MW of load-sheddingthis week was a combination of stage 6 load-shedding and load-curtailment.<\/p>\n Schedules\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:<\/p>\n For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on\u00a0loadshedding.eskom.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n\n
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