Cape Town – No loadshedding will be implemented on Tuesday night, Eskom has announced.
“We have cancelled Stage 1 for this evening. No loadshedding to be implemented tonight,” a short announcement from the power utility said on Tuesday.
This comes after loadshedding was cancelled between 8am and 4pm but was set to restart from 4pm till 10pm.
But Eskom warned that Stage 1 loadshedding would be implemented from 4pm to 10pm on Wednesday.
“Having successfully returned four generation units to service today, no loadshedding was implemented as the generation capacity improved. While two more units are expected to return to service tomorrow, another two units will be taken offline tonight for urgent maintenance. As a result, Stage 1 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 22:00 tomorrow,” Eskom said on Tuesday.
The power utility said they would continue to communicate should there be any changes as the system remains unreliable and vulnerable.
“Unplanned breakdowns amount to 9 424MW of capacity, adding to the 5 246MW currently out on planned maintenance. Eskom teams are working around the clock to return as many of these generation units to service as possible.
“We urge the people of South Africa to continue using electricity sparingly in order to assist Eskom to reduce the instance of loadshedding.”
South Africa has again recently suffered varying levels of loadshedding and Eskom warned that it could continue as a result of more constraints on the generation system.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said last week that 10 generation units at seven power stations had suffered breakdowns.
He said generators broke down at Arnot, Medupi, Lethabo and Matla power stations, while two units each at Majuba, Camden and Tutuka power stations had also broken down.
Last week Eskom suspended the managers of two of its biggest generating plants, the Kendal and Tutuka plants and asked the acting managers of the Kriel and Duvha plants to return to their original positions.
“This action was taken because of sustained poor performance by these plants, which require investigation pending disciplinary action,” Eskom said.
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