On Sunday afternoon, Eskom announced that loadshedding will be suspended until 4 PM on Monday. It will then be escalated to stage three until midnight. This will continue until Wednesday.
Eskom explained that the reduction in loadshedding stages was due to continued improvement in available generation capacity, as three generation units were returned to service over the weekend.
Breakdowns currently amount to 16,155 megawatts (MW) of capacity. A further 3,766 MW of generation capacity is unavailable for planned maintenance. The power utility will publish further updates should any significant changes occur.
The lower stages of loadshedding have come as a welcomed relief for millions of South Africans. Many have wondered what has led to the sudden improvement of power availability in the country.
During a media briefing last week, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa revealed that Eskom's generation fleet has improved significantly over the past week.
There has been a reduction in unplanned breakdowns to less than 16,000 MW during the previous seven days. This declined by more than 2000MW or two stages of loadshedding from 18,000MW during the previous week.
Eskom is also doing less planned maintenance than before as it was reduced to approximately 2,500 MW last week. Power generation from wind power has increased due to weather conditions in coastal regions.
South Africans are also using less electricity. It was revealed that peak demand is averaging less than 29,000MW, compared to the approximately 30,000MW that was projected for the first week of June 2023.
If we can keep up energy saving from demand-side measures we can sustain this trend and reduce the severity of loadshedding.
This sentiment was communicated during Eskom’s most recent loadshedding statement, which thanked South Africans for their reduced electricity consumption.
We thank those South Africans who do heed the call to use electricity sparingly and effectively, including switching off geysers from 17:00 to 21:00, as this is helping to alleviate the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of loadshedding - Eskom
South Africans are encouraged to use electricity efficiently to assist Eskom in reducing the severity of loadshedding.
