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Load shedding: This is what you can expect this weekend
Eskom said it will ease load shedding this coming weekend, suspending outages for most of the day before the power cuts kick back in.
Eskom said over the past 24 hours, some generating units were returned to service. Photo: iStock
Eskom has announced that stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm on Friday until midnight.
Thereafter, the deliberate power cuts will be suspended from midnight until 4pm on Saturday, followed by stage 3 load shedding from 4pm until midnight.
Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said this pattern will be repeated until further notice.
“Eskom will publish another update should any significant changes occur.
Breakdowns are currently reduced to 14 374MW of generating capacity. The generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance increased to 5 003MW.
Generating units
Mokwena said over the past 24 hours, some generating units were returned to service.
“A generating unit each at Grootvlei and Kriel power stations were returned to service. In the same period, a generation unit each at Camden, Kendal as well as two generation units at Matla power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns.
“The delay in returning to service a generating unit at the Tutuka Power Station is contributing to the current capacity constraints. Eskom teams are working around the clock to return generating units to service over the next few days,” Mokwena said.
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Eskom has urged South Africans to use electricity sparingly.
“Switch off geysers from 5pm to 9pm, as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of load shedding.”
Chicken murder
Meanwhile, as the country suffers persistent load shedding, over 35 000 chickens have died, and more than 5 000 were culled due to the deliberate power cuts in Gauteng.
This was revealed by the Democratic Alliance (DA) in a reply to the party’s questions tabled in the Gauteng Provincial Legislature (GPL) to the MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development, Mbali Hlophe.
DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Agriculture and Rural Development Bronwynn Engelbrecht said the impact of load shedding is causing the price of chickens to go up as poultry farmers cannot keep up with the supply and demand from retailers.
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