Eskom implements Stage 2 load shedding until further notice

Cape Town - South Africans will have some reprieve as power utility Eskom announced it would be implementing Stage 2 load shedding from midday on Friday.

According to the interim spokesperson for Eskom, Daphne Mokwena, the power utility could reduce its stages of load shedding due to further improvements in the generation capacity over the past 24 hours.

“Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 12pm today (Friday) until further notice. Eskom will provide an update as soon as any significant changes occur,” Mokwena said.

The nation has been grappling between Stages 3 and 4 load shedding since Tuesday.

This improvement could be after the battling power utility announced on Thursday it had six coal-fired power stations performing at 70% energy ability factor (EAF) for the first time since May 8, 2022.

“Over the past week, six coal-fired power stations achieved EAF of 70%, a milestone last achieved on May 8, 2022.

“Three of these power stations, Camden, Duvha and Matla, have been on a sustained upward trend as a result of a reduction of plant breakdowns and the return to service of a number of units that were on unplanned breakdowns. Lethabo, Matimba and Medupi have been experiencing continued good performance and remain among Eskom’s three best-performing stations.

“In addition, Lethabo was able to sustain performance after a quick recovery following a wet coal incident experienced last week due to flooding after the excessive rainfall,” it said.

Eskom CEO Calib Cassim said while it was still early progress, it showed a positive trajectory from actions taken to recover the power utility’s generation plants.

robin.francke@inl.co.za

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