Eskom will suspend scheduled power cuts for the first time in five weeks after the generation system recovered sufficiently.
The utility will cut 1GW from the grid from 4pm until midnight on Friday and then suspend the blackouts until at least 29 July , according to a schedule published on Twitter. Constraints to the power system remain, Eskom said.
Faced with ageing infrastructure that regularly breaks down, Eskom has implemented 84 days of power cuts this year, including stage-6 load shedding — which removes 6GW from the grid.
The unreliable electricity supply is weighing on output and business confidence. The economy probably contracted 1.1% in the second quarter, partly due to more extensive blackouts, the Reserve Bank said on Thursday. — Khuleko Siwele, (c) 2022 Bloomberg LP