Eskom said it will reduce load shedding to stage 1 from 10pm on Friday evening, even though plant breakdowns remain high at 16GW of capacity.

Update: The company said on Saturday it would suspend load shedding at midday on Saturday, earlier than the planned 5am on Monday, after more generating units returned to service.

The state-owned electricity utility said the reduction in the the frequency of rolling power cuts this weekend is possible due to some generating units returning to service. However, it said work to restore units had been slower than expected. The latest bout of load shedding began on Tuesday, and Eskom warned that that it would continue until 5am on Monday, 9 May.

“Eskom will continue to monitor the system and implement any changes as required,” it said in a statement late on Friday afternoon.

“Since yesterday (Thursday) morning, a generation unit each at Matla, Hendrina and Arnot power stations have returned to service. At the same time, however, a generation unit at Kendal, Kusile and Matimba power stations were either taken offline or tripped. Further, delays in returning generators to service at Arnot, Kendal and three units at Tutuka power stations have added to the capacity constraints.”

Eskom will make use of emergency generation reserves at the weekend to supplement supply, including by burning diesel in its open-cycle gas turbines. The utility said that of late afternoon Friday, 16GW of capacity was unavailable due to plant breakdowns. — (c) 2022 NewsCentral Media