Eskom has announced increased load shedding with stage 3 having kicked in at 4 pm on Thursday and suspended at midnight.
On Friday, the power utility imposed stage 1 power cuts at 5 am, which will increase to stage 3 at 4 pm.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the rolling blackouts would continue to follow this pattern until midnight on Saturday.
“Load shedding will be suspended from midnight on Saturday until 4 pm on Sunday, followed by stage 3 load shedding until midnight,” said Mokwena.
The power utility said it would publish a further update if any significant changes occur.
Here is the load-shedding schedule:
Breakdowns
Mokwena said breakdowns slightly increased to 15 100MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance slightly increased to 5 252MW.
“Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit at Arnot Power Station was returned to service. In the same period, a generation unit at Matimba was taken out of service due to a breakdown.
“The delay in returning to service two generating units at Tutuka is contributing to the current capacity constraints. Eskom teams are working around the clock to return generating units to service over the next few days,” said Mokwena.
Cold front
While Eskom has managed to maintain the deliberate power cuts to stage 3, the electricity grid may come under pressure from a forecasted cold front expected to hit Gauteng from Sunday with temperatures expected to drop significantly.
Gauteng Weather said the mercury is expected to hover on single digits indicating very cold weather.
The province has already experienced freezing temperatures across several areas.
Johannesburg Emergency Services has assured residents that officials will be on high alert for any eventuality during the cold weather.
Energy action plan
Meanwhile, the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, will brief the media on Sunday on progress made regarding the implementation of the Energy Action Plan.
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Mzansi actor and author, Mondli Makhoba was reportedly off the market after a photo of him and his partner went viral.
Taking to Twitter, controversial entertainment blogger, Musa Khawula recently shared an image of the love birds on his official page captioned: “Meet Mondli Makhoba’s girlfriend, Nokuphila Sibiya.” A shocking number of Twitter users were amazed to discover that the seasoned actor was in a relationship, while others commented on how beautiful the two looked together. Learn More
