Power utility Eskom says that load shedding will be eased on Friday, with stage 5 kicking in from 05h00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stage 5 will continue until 16h00, the group said, with an updated schedule for the weekend expected to be published sometime during the day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All-day stage 6 load shedding has been in effect all week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the minister of electricity, the escalation was due to a double blow of generating unit losses as well as the ramping up of planned maintenance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said that for years, Eskom\u2019s units have been \u201cexploited\u201d without the necessary maintenance or the \u201cphilosophy of maintenance\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat has caught up with us; that is why we are in the situation we find ourselves in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, with the financial relief provided to Eskom in the form of the National Treasury\u2019s R254 billion debt relief strategy, part of the conditions is that the power utility needs to maintain its assets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Because of this, the group is now sticking to a rigorous planned maintenance regime, which will impact available supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe accept that in the short-term, we face the possibility of intensified power interruptions,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe say the possibility because if the planned maintenance is accompanied by increases in unplanned losses, then it means there will be an intesification of load shedding \u2013 which is essentially the situation we find ourselves in,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The minister said that planned maintenance was slowed down during winter as part of Eskom\u2019s mitigation efforts to stave off high stages of load shedding due to increased demand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Schedules <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:<\/p>\n\n\n\n For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\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\n\n\n
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