Good news: Eskom suspends load shedding ahead of the long weekend

At least 2021 won’t start with Eskom plunging us all into darkness. Load shedding has been put on hold over the long weekend, as South Africans are given the chance to see in the new year responsibly at home.

Eskom suspend load shedding on Thursday 31 December

With Cyril Ramaphosa leading a candlelit vigil later this evening to pay tribute to those killed by COVID-19, a power cut would have been the ultimate irony. However, it looks like we’ll avoid a third day of load shedding, after the lights were switched off on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. The situation, however, remains dicey.

• A total of 9 170 MW has been taken off the grid due to planned maintenance.
• A further 11 334 MW has gone offline due to ‘unforeseen power shortages’.
• In total, 20 504 MW is currently unavailable.
• With South Africa heading into a long weekend, demand for electricity will be ‘significantly lower’ for a short period of time.

No lights-out on New Year’s Eve

In a statement issued on Thursday, Eskom urged citizens to use electricity ‘sparingly’ over the next few days. The utility says that it will use the downtime to carry out essential maintenance – even if that means taking risks with the supply:

“We are pleased to inform the public that load shedding has been suspended. The demand for electricitiy has dropped ahead of the long weekend. However, Eskom requests South Africans to use electricity sparingly in the days ahead.”

“Eskom will use the lower demand opportunity to replenish the emergency generation reserves in preparation for the higher demand expected in January, as economic activities resume. We will also pursue increased reliability maintenance, and while this will put pressure on our generational output, this action is necessary to improve performance.”

Eskom via Twitter

• You can read the full statement from Eskom here:

#PowerAlert 1

Loadshedding suspended as demand drops ahead of the long weekend@News24 @SABCNews @NewzroomAfrika @eNCA @IOL @ewnupdates @SundayTimesZA @SowetanLIVE pic.twitter.com/6p7Vs08Vfs

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 31, 2020