Eskom said South Africa's 'no load shedding' streak continues, this as many feared the country would be plunged into darkness following the national and provincial elections, on Wednesday.

In an update on Friday, Eskom said due to the on-going structural improvement in the reliability of its generation fleet, load shedding remains suspended.

"Load shedding has currently been suspended for 65 consecutive days. The last time South Africa experienced such an extended suspension of load shedding was the period between December 5, 2021, and February 2, 2022," Eskom's Daphne Mokwena said.

She added that Eskom’s Generation Operational Recovery Plan, initiated in March 2023, along with extensive planned maintenance, continued to deliver the improved reliability and availability of the generation fleet.

“Eskom published on Friday, April 26, 2024, its winter outlook and it remains in force. Our generation performance continues to surpass the winter forecast for this year,” said Mokwena.

“The winter forecast anticipated a likely scenario of unplanned outages at 15,500MW and load shedding limited to Stage 2,” she said.

“The current unplanned outages average at 12 500MW which is 3000MW less than what was anticipated. A total of 3 500MW of generating capacity is planned to be returned to service by Monday June 3, 2024.”

She added that Eskom’s evening peak demand by Friday was at 28,503MW.

“With temperatures expected to drop this coming weekend, Eskom appeals to the members of the public to use electricity sparingly and efficiently,” Mokwena said.

“This includes switching off geysers and pool pumps from 5pm to 9pm. Doing so lowers demand and helps alleviate pressure on the power system, contributing to lower stages of load shedding.”

Eskom will provide an update next Friday or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur

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