Stage 4 load shedding remains in place until 4pm on Monday, Eskom said after five generating units were returned to service at the weekend.
“Stage 5 load shedding will be implemented at 4pm – 5am on Tuesday morning,” the utility said in a brief statement on Sunday.
“Load shedding will then be reduced to Stage 3 at 5am – 4pm on both Tuesday and Wednesday, while Stage 4 will be implemented during 4pm– 5am on both Tuesday and Wednesday.
“Eskom will publish another update as soon as any significant changes occur.”
Spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantsha said a generating unit each at the Arnot, Grootvlei, Kendal, Medupi and Tutuka power stations were returned to service. Breakdowns at a unit each at Camden, Majuba and Matimba power stations caused units to be taken off-line for repairs.
“The delay in returning a unit each to service at Arnot, Hendrina, Kendal, Medupi and Tutuka power stations are contributing to the current capacity constraints. Further, electricity imports from the Cahora Bassa Hydro Scheme in Mozambique have been halved to 600MW due to a tower failure on one of the lines from that country,” Mantshantsha said.
He said four open cycle gas turbines at Ankerlig peaking station are out of service for planned maintenance until March 15.
Breakdowns amount to 16 870MW of generating capacity while 4 757MW of generating capacity is out of service for planned maintenance.
IOL