Eskom has revealed plans to halt loadshedding for much of the daytime hours over the upcoming weekend. The decision comes as the power utility downgraded from stage 3 to stage 2 loadshedding on Friday morning.
This change is attributed to the recovery of additional generation capacity and anticipated lower electricity demand over the weekend.
According to Eskom’s statement released on Friday afternoon, the unplanned outages have decreased, with generating capacity now at 13 733MW, while planned maintenance outages stand at 8 121MW.
Loadshedding is expected to continue until 5am on Saturday, followed by a suspension until 4pm on the same day. However, stage 2 loadshedding will resume during the evening hours on Saturday and early morning hours on Sunday.
On Sunday, loadshedding will again be suspended from 5am to 4pm, followed by stage 1 loadshedding until midnight.
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Here is a summary of the weekend’s loadshedding schedule:
- Date: 16 February (Friday)
- Day: Stage 3 until 10am, Stage 2 from 10am
- Evening peak: Stage 2
- Date: 17 February (Saturday)
- Day: No loadshedding
- Evening peak: Stage 2
- Date: 18 February (Sunday)
- Day: No loadshedding
- Evening peak: Stage 1 until 12am
Eskom has promised to provide a further update on next week’s loadshedding schedule on Sunday, with plans to return 2 440MW of generating capacity to service by then.
If Eskom follows through with its plans, it will mark the first time rotational power cuts have been suspended since Friday, 26 January.
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Picture: Hennie Stander / Unsplash
