Eskom has no load-shedding plans - for now

No load-shedding is expected on Thursday evening and during the day on Friday - but the country's power system remains fragile, says Eskom.

A damaged conveyor belt that feeds coal into Medupi power station had on Wednesday evening raised the spectre of load-shedding as it meant four generation units were not able to get enough coal to generate electricity.

"This belt has subsequently been repaired and is currently in service, improving Eskom's capacity to supply electricity," the power utility said in an update on Wednesday afternoon.

“While no load-shedding is expected this evening and tomorrow, Eskom would like to remind the public that the system remains constrained and vulnerable, and should there be any significant breakdowns, load-shedding may have to be implemented at short notice.”

Eskom has unplanned breakdowns amounting to 10,909MW of capacity, in addition to 5,831MW out on planned maintenance.

“Eskom teams are working around the clock to return as many of these generation units to service as possible,” it added.

“We urge the people of South Africa to continue using electricity sparingly in order to assist Eskom to avoid the implementation of load-shedding.”

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