Low probability of load-shedding over weekend

While the country’s power system remains “tight and vulnerable”, there is only a low probability of load-shedding over the weekend, Eskom says.

Eskom said on Saturday its multidisciplinary teams continued to work tirelessly on the electricity parastal’s 9-point recovery plan to improve generation and operational performance while also stabilising the system.

“We have managed to conclude new coal contracts that will enable us to achieve an upwards turning on declining coal stock levels and bring about a marked improvement from December onwards, albeit slowly. Our short-term strategy to augment coal stocks at power stations that were below the minimum days is two-pronged, namely, coal procurement and diverting coal from well-stocked power stations,”  Eskom group chief executive Phakamani Hadebe said.

“We aim to improve coal stock levels at the impacted power stations from December and grow the total stock days from an average of 25 to 28 days by the end of the current financial year,” Hadebe added.  

The power provider requested South Africans “to be vigilant as we anticipate an increase in coal trucks on the roads while transporting coal around Mpumalanga where we restore our coal stock levels to grid code heights”.