Eskom will end load-shedding at 5pm on Saturday and resume again on Sunday morning

Eskom will suspend rotational load-shedding at 5pm on Saturday and resume again on Sunday at 8am.

The power utility said an improved generation system performance had provided it with room to provide some relief to customers on Saturday night.

“Two generation units have successfully returned to service earlier than expected this morning and the pumped-storage schemes have recovered adequately, setting us on a good course to full recovery by Monday morning.

“Unplanned breakdowns have reduced, giving us some reprieve from load-shedding during the night while affording us some headroom to replenish the emergency reserves to better meet the week’s demand. Unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 10,553MW as at 08:00 this morning, while planned maintenance is 5, 679MW,” Eskom said in a statement.

But the utility added: “Even though we can provide some relief tonight, the system remains unpredictable and constrained, and as such we remind customers that any shift in the system performance will require a change in the stage of load-shedding at short notice.

“Eskom also reminds South Africans that there is a possibility of increased load-shedding over the next 18 months as we are conducting critical maintenance to restore the ageing plant to good health.”