By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Due to the sustained improved performance of generation availability as well as the anticipated lower demand over the weekend, load shedding will be suspended between 05:00 and 16:00 on Saturday and Sunday, Eskom said on Friday.
Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 on both Saturday and Sunday.
On Friday, meanwhile, Stage 3 load shedding will still be in place from 16:00 until 05:00 on Saturday.
Notably, Eskom has previously announced weekend suspensions to load shedding but was forced to re-implement outages due to a deteriorating energy situation.
The grid remains under strain and unpredictable, so South Africans are warned that the situation can change at very short notice.
“Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate any change to load shedding should it be required,” it said.
Breakdowns are currently at 14,266MW of generating capacity while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 5,388MW.
Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Arnot, Duvha, Ingula and Vanderkloof power stations was taken offline for repairs.
In the same period, a generating unit at Hendrina Power Station was returned to service.
Eskom’s load forecast for the evening peak demand is 27,606MW.
Positively, Eskom’s current outages are lower than the target set for its forward-looking forcarst, which is set at 14,500MW.
If the group manages to maintain outages at or below these levels, Eskom has a higher chance of keeping load shedding capped at stage 4 in the coming months as demand picks up
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.