Eskom suspends load-shedding

An additional 2,391MW is expected to be restored on Sunday

02 February 2025 - 10:05
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Eskom chair Mteto Nyati and CEO Dan Marokane. Nyati says the generation recovery plan has been Eskom’s operational 'north star' for the past 18 months and will be the key to freeing the entity of load-shedding. Any setbacks in turning Eskom around should not be interpreted as a hard return to the crisis of the past decade.
Eskom chair Mteto Nyati and CEO Dan Marokane. Nyati says the generation recovery plan has been Eskom’s operational 'north star' for the past 18 months and will be the key to freeing the entity of load-shedding. Any setbacks in turning Eskom around should not be interpreted as a hard return to the crisis of the past decade.
Image: Freddy Mavunda

Load-shedding was suspended on Sunday morning due to sufficient replenishment of emergency reserves, Eskom confirmed.

On Friday, the power utility announced the return of rolling blackouts after almost 10 months of uninterrupted power supply.

It said this was due to several breakdowns over the past week, necessitating extended repair times and the full use of its emergency reserves.

“As promised, Eskom has since replenished these reserves, with dam levels fully replenished and open-cycle gas turbines adequately recovered, ensuring a stable supply. Additionally, five coal-fired generation units have been successfully repaired and returned to service, adding a total of 2,930MW to the grid,” said Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena.

Mokwena said an additional 2,391MW is expected to be restored on Sunday.

The announcement of load-shedding came a day after the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa) announced it had approved an average tariff hike of 12.74% for Eskom, well above inflation but less than half the 36.15% Eskom had applied for.

“With load-shedding largely behind us, the structural improvements and efficiency gains we have made in our coal-fired generation fleet are secure, along with the over R16.30bn saved in diesel costs from April 1, 2024, to January 30, 2025.”

Mokwena said the power utilities Summer Outlook, published on August 26, 2024, remains unchanged.

“Currently, unplanned outages stand at 13,279MW and continue to trend downward, averaging 12087MW. Planned maintenance outages account for 6,298MW and are aligned with our summer maintenance strategy to further improve reliability in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.”

Mokwena said with an available capacity of 27,957MW and the evening’s peak demand forecast of 24,456MW,Eskom will meet electricity demand.

She said Eskom faces network overloading issues in certain areas due to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorised network operations, theft of network equipment and electricity purchases from unlicensed vendors.

“To prevent public safety hazards and the risk of network overloading and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly urges customers to avoid illegal connections, as this can negatively affect the entire local community. It is also essential for customers to ensure they purchase electricity only from authorised vendors.”

Mokwena said Eskom will provide updates if any significant changes occur.

TimesLIVE


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