By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Eskom has announced that load shedding will drop to lower stages at the weekend, with the cuts suspended during the day on Sunday.
Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented as planned on Friday (5 January) from 16h00 until 05h00 on Saturday.
This will be followed by stage 1 load shedding until 16h00, onto stage 2 until 05h00 on Sunday.
Load shedding will then be suspended from 05h00 until 16h00 on Sunday, with outages returning at stage 1 from 16h00 to 05h00 on Monday.
The load shedding schedule for the week ahead is expected to be announced on Sunday.
According to Eskom, the lower stages of load shedding are a result of the return to service of some generation units in the past 48 hours, coupled with the anticipated lower weekend demand.
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.
Meanwhile the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy has published the draft Integrated Resource Plan for 2023, outlining its plans to resolve South Africa’s energy crisis and bring an end to load shedding.
The updated energy blueprint envisions more than 100 gigawatts of new generation capacity being built by 2050, and proposes that a variety of technologies and fuels be considered to produce it, including solar, wind, nuclear and coal.
South Africa lacks a reliable electricity supply, resulting in frequent blackouts that have crippled the economy.
The IRP 2023 maps out multiple scenarios, such as a “least cost” plan to produce 105 gigawatts of power, and another that sees 166 gigawatts being generated from wind, solar, gas and battery storage.
“Energy pathways based on renewable and clean energy technologies only deliver the desired outcome in so far as decarbonizing the power system, “the energy department said in the plan.