Power utility Eskom says that stage 2 load shedding will be implemented on Friday from 05h00 until further notice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This follows the breaking down of four units at its power stations, it said, adding that it also needs to replenish its reserves in preparation for the week ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The group has been able to alleviate load shedding for much of the week, suspending outages during the day and only escalating to stage 2 in the evenings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This has been thanks to better generating capacity as well as the return of a unit at Kusile ahead of schedule.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the outlook for rolling blackouts in the country is still on a knife’s edge, with the situation at risk of changing suddenly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eskom’s\u00a0latest system report for the 39th week of the year<\/a> shows that the overall picture is still reflecting \u2018Code Red\u2019 across the board.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The latest system report shows that the utility is planning for 52 weeks of projected supply shortfalls over 2,000MW (equivalent to 2 stages of load shedding) at minimum.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In its assessment of the year ahead, Eskom provides both a \u201cplanned\u201d risk level \u2013 based on its baseline assumptions of megawatts that will be unavailable \u2013 and a \u201clikely\u201d risk scenario, based on the baseline assumption being exceeded by 1,500 MW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The assumptions are all based on the last week of available operational data.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This particular assessment is based on an assumption that 16,000MW will be out due to unplanned outages. Including reserves of 2,200MW, Eskom \u201cplans\u201d around 18,200MW being offline due to outages.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the \u201clikely\u201d scenario, this ramps up to approximately 20,200MW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, while this is a broad plan for the utility, it does not reflect what the group expects as an outlook in the summer months ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Specifically, while the system report pegs its planned scenarios on outages (UCLF) between 16,000MW and over 20,000MW, its summer plan has reduced these forecasts to be between 14,500MW and 17,500MW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In its current target scenarios, Eskom wants to keep unplanned outages below 14,500MW, which should help it keep the maximum level of load shedding under stage 4.<\/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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