Photo by: Duane Daws
The load-shedding website operated by State-owned power utility Eskom was indicating that “no load shedding” was taking place on Friday morning, having shown ongoing rotational shedding throughout the day on Thursday.
Eskom also formally lifted, at 22:00 on Thursday night, the emergency announced at 6:00 that morning and cancelled the load shedding, which had been initiated from 9:00 on March 6.
The utility said that the system remained “constrained, but stable”.
The emergency and subsequent load shedding was attributed to a combination of factors, including the depletion of dry coal stockpiles at some plants, which resulted in lower power output as a result of wet and poor quality coal.
But three units had also been lost at the Kendal power station, in Mpumalanga, while there had been reduced output from Duvha, where conveyor belts were being reconstructed following a fire in December.
Low dam levels at the Drakensberg and Palmiet pumped storage power stations were also identified as a cause, along with a loss of imports through the Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority.
A briefing was schedule for midday, at which outgoing CEO Brian Dames would provide and update on the state of the power system.