Eskom suspends load shedding for Women’s Day
Eskom has announced it will suspend load shedding during the day from Wednesday due to an improvement in available generation capacity.
This as the country celebrates Women’s Day on Wednesday, 9 August.
However, stage 3 of the rolling blackouts will be back from 4 pm until 5 am on Thursday.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said various stages of load shedding will then be implemented until Sunday.
Breakdowns
Mokwena said Eskom will publish another update should any significant changes occur.
“Breakdowns are currently at 15 420MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 3 841MW.
“Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit at Arnot, Camden, and Lethabo power stations was returned to service. In the same period, a generating unit at Kriel and Tutuka power stations was taken offline for repairs,” Mokwena said.
Reduce demand
Mokwena added the delay in returning to service two generating units at Kendal and a generating unit at Tutuka power stations is contributing to the current capacity constraints.
“Eskom teams are working tirelessly to return these generating units to service.”
Eskom has appealed to members of the public to continue reducing demand by switching off non-essential appliances.
“We would like to thank those who do heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers and pool pumps from 5pm to 9pm, as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of load shedding,” it said.
Government taking action
Meanwhile, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said the government is taking action to address the electricity crisis as well as finding long-term solutions to eliminate the rolling blackouts.
Ramokgopa updated the public on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan (EAP) saying excessive energy consumption by government buildings at night had been identified as a contributing factor to the power cuts.
In other news – Screenshot: Unathi Nkayi reacts to troll who called her ugly
Popular Mzansi media personality and SA Idols judge, Unathi Nkayi revealed that an Instagram user had called her ugly via an Instagram Story on Sunday 7 August. The radio personality revealed that a “little boy” posted and tagged her just to say she was “pretty ugly”.
She shared a screenshot of the Instagrammer’s profile – which reveals he is 18 years old. The radio personality wanted her one million followers to help her find his parents to tell them that they are not doing a good job raising him. Read More
