Eskom increases load-shedding — here is the updated timetable

Eskom has announced that load-shedding will no longer drop to stage 2 on Monday morning.

“Two generating units at Tutuka power station were shut down during the night, while the return to service of an Arnot power station unit has been delayed, further reducing available capacity,” Eskom stated.

“Loadshedding will be maintained at Stage 3 until 16:00 on Monday. Stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented at 16:00 – 05:00. Eskom will publish a full update during the afternoon.”

The announcement comes after Eskom told media on Sunday that it hoped to reduce load-shedding to stage 1 and stage 3 this week.

However, Eskom’s power station general manager Thomas Conradie said it would depend on units returning to service and Eskom not incurring further losses.

“Eskom is experiencing very high levels of plant unreliability and forced outages currently,” Conradie said.

“A number of large generating units are off for an extended period contributing to the higher plant unavailability and loss of generating capacity.”

The updated load-shedding timetable is as follows:

Eskom chair Mpho Makwana also told the press on Sunday that the state-owned power utility will need to implement permanent load-shedding for the next two years.

Makwana said they hoped to keep the stages fixed between stage 2 and stage 3.

“We want to create some predictability,” Makwana said. “Shuttling from one stage to the other is never good.”

However, outgoing Eskom CEO André de Ruyter later clarified that continuously implementing a specific stage of load-shedding would not be possible.

Higher stages might sometimes be necessary, and if Eskom’s generating unit breakdown situation improves, lower stages could be possible.

Now read: Goodbye Eskom — Power cuts forcing South Africans to build private solar

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Eskom increases load-shedding — here is the updated timetable