‘Constrained’ Eskom on track to suspend load shedding at 10pm
Residents and businesses will breathe a sigh of relief tonight when Eskom suspends load shedding at 10pm.
The country faced rolling blackouts during an already tough week due to a cold snap in some parts, as well as deadly flooding in KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape.
Over the past several days, pressure has eased on the power utility allowing Eskom to downgrade from stage 4 to the current stage 2.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha says nine generation units are also expected to return to service during the weekend.
"These are a unit at Hendrina and two generation units each at Arnot, Duvha, Majuba and Tutuka power stations. The low weekend demand will assist in replenishing emergency reserves. This, together with the reduced weekend demand, will enable Eskom to suspend loadshedding at 22:00 tonight."
But Mantshantsha warns the power utility is not yet out of the woods.
"Eskom would like to again caution that even with the return to service of these units, the power system remains severely constrained and volatile. During next week we anticipate to continue relying on the use of emergency reserves to meet demand," he adds.
"We currently have 5 353MW on planned maintenance, while another 14 912MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns."
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