LOAD SHEDDING NEWS - Eskom has announced load shedding will continue to be suspended until the weekend.
This is good news for South Africans as the country battles an energy crisis. It is also great news for those wanting to watch the Springboks take on the All Blacks in the Rugby World Cup final at 20:00 on Saturday night.
In recent weeks, the rolling blackouts have eased due to improved generation capacity, according to Eskom.
Load shedding
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the utility will keep the public informed if there are any changes to the load shedding status.
“Due to sufficient generation capacity including emergency reserves, expected units to be returned to service as well as anticipated lower demand into the weekend, load shedding will remain suspended until 16:00 on Sunday.
“Eskom will continue to monitor the power system and publish the week ahead outlook on Sunday. Eskom will communicate should any significant changes occur,” Mokwena said.
Koeberg
Meanwhile, Eskom confirmed that Unit 1 at Koeberg Power Station was expected to start supplying electricity to the national grid by the end of October.
The unit, which generates 920 MW, has been out of commission since December last year for maintenance.
The parastatal previously extended the expected date for the return to service of Unit 1 several times from the initial indicated completion date of mid-June 2023.
Mokwena said the return to service of Unit 1 was positive.
“Over the past few days, many residents close to Koeberg Power Station might have noticed steam rising from the power station on some occasions.
“For the workers at Koeberg this is good news as it is an indication that the outage for Unit 1 is almost over,” Mokwena said.
Unit 2
Mokwena said the three steam generators on Unit 2 are scheduled for replacement in the upcoming Unit 2 outage, which will start once the Unit 1 commissioning is complete.
