Cape Town - Eskom announced it will be suspending load shedding at 10pm on Friday.
In a statement, the power utility said it expected to return nine generation units to service during the weekend.
These generation units are 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 load shedding at 10pm tonight,” the power utility said.
Eskom has urged residents to remain cautious with the return to service of these generating units, as 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. We currently have 5 353MW of planned maintenance, while another 14 912MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns,” Eskom said.
The power utility apologised, yet again, for the implementation of load shedding and said it would be closely monitoring the power system.
Eskom said load shedding is only implemented as a last resort to protect the national grid.
It urged all residents to continue using electricity sparingly.
robin.francke@inl.co.za
IOL