Eskom announced on Sunday that load shedding had been suspended as of 6am due to the recovery of sufficient emergency reserves.
The utility said that due to a temporary setback, it was forced to implement the energy cutting initiative on Friday.
Eskom noted that it had encountered several breakdowns over the past week, which necessitated extended repair times and the full use of its emergency reserves.
“As promised, Eskom has since replenished these reserves, with dam levels fully replenished and open-cycle gas turbines adequately recovered, ensuring a stable supply,” according to Eskom’s spokesperson, Daphne Mokwena.
“Additionally, five coalfired generation units have been successfully repaired and returned to service, adding a total of 2,930MW to the grid. An additional 2,391MW is expected to be restored on Sunday,” she added.
“With load shedding largely behind us, the structural improvements and efficiency gains we have made in our coal-fired generation fleet are secure, along with the over R16.30 billion saved in diesel costs from April 2024, to January 2025”.
The utility said that its “Summer Outlook,” remained unchanged and added that the current, unplanned outages stand at 13,279MW and continue to trend downward, averaging 12,087MW.
“Planned maintenance outages account for 6,298MW and are aligned with our summer maintenance strategy to further improve reliability in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond,” Mokwena said.
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