Eskom has announced that it will be reducing loadshedding to STAGE 2 at 10 pm tonight, 21 April. Furthermore, Eskom chief executive André de Ruyter has high hopes for the weekend. He states that as the situation improves the country can expect the suspension of loadshedding sometime on Friday 22 April.
Continuous improvement
On Tuesday 19 April, Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 4 loadshedding. This was due to the two major breakdowns of the Majuba Unit 5 and Tutuka Unit 4.
On Tuesday 19 April, de Ruyter explained that Eskom was facing a total of roughly 15 672 megawatt unplanned losses. He described this as “unacceptably high”.
Then, on Wednesday 20 April, he reported that the situation had improved slightly with the new losses sitting at around 15 147 megawatts. This allowed for a downgrade to stage 3 loadshedding.
By the morning of Thursday 21 April, de Ruyters was glad to announce a further recovery with total unplanned losses sitting at 14 303 megawatts. The improving situation permits Eksom to further de-escalate loadshedding to stage 2 tonight at 10 pm.
Plus, if the situation continues to improve and all the functioning units perform as expected Eskom plans to suspend loadshedding sometime on Friday 22 April.
Some areas still without power
Unfortunately, some areas of the country may still be left in the dark. For instance, many areas of KZN are suffering from power cuts after a blaze broke out at the Mariannridge Major facility on Tuesday, 19 April.
On Wednesday 20 April, a transformer in Johannesburg’s Eldorado Park blew up and technicians are deciding if a replacement will be needed. In which case power in nearby areas may be out for up to seven days.