Cape Town - Eskom will lift Stage 2 loadshedding at 9pm on Sunday night as emergency reserves have adequately recovered to allow for a reduction in the depth of loadshedding, the power utility said.
However, taking into consideration the peak traffic rush hour, Eskom will on Monday morning resume implementing Stage 1 loadshedding from 9am.
"We will give a further update to the public on Monday afternoon as to the state of the system going forward. The risk of loadshedding remains for the week."
Eskom said in a statement on Sunday: "Unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 11 126MW as at 16:00 today. Our teams are working hard to reduce the unplanned outages. We also continue conducting critical maintenance on units that are currently on planned outages to reduce the depth and frequency of loadshedding.
"Eskom also wishes to remind South Africans that there is an increased possibility of loadshedding over the next 18 months as we are conducting critical maintenance to restore the ageing plant to good health.
While dam levels have recovered adequately enough to allow for a reduction to Stage 1 loadshedding, there is still some work being done to improve diesel stocks.
To assist them in reducing the stage of loadshedding, Eskom appealed to customers to use electricity sparingly:
• Set air-conditioners’ average temperature at 23ºC
• Switch off your geysers over peak periods
• Use the cold water tap rather than using the geyser every time
• Set your swimming pool pump cycle to run twice a day, three hours at a time
• At the end of the day, turn off computers, copiers, printers and fax machines at the switch.
Check loadshedding schedules on the Eskom (https://loadshedding.eskom.co.za) or local municipal websites, depending on their electricity supplier, to review amendments.