The suspension of power outages has been extended for another week due to an improvement in Eskom’s power generation capacity. This is the most extended period of uninterrupted power supply since August 2022, as the country has not experienced any power outages for the past 16 days.

By Staff Writer

South Africa’s power grid has been plagued by load shedding for several years, with scheduled power outages being a common occurrence. However, some good news for South Africans is that load shedding has been postponed for another week, meaning they can start the new year with an uninterrupted electricity supply.

The scheduled power outages were halted 16 days ago, providing the longest period of uninterrupted power supply since August 2022. This is a much-needed relief for the citizens who have been grappling with regular power cuts that have adversely affected their daily lives and the economy.

A week ago, the Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, made an important announcement about the state of load shedding in the country. The announcement stated that the current suspension of load shedding, which had provided much-needed relief to households and businesses, would continue for the foreseeable future. The minister assured the nation that load shedding would not resume until at least 2024, providing much-needed stability and predictability to the energy sector.

Briefing the media on Thursday, 21 December, Ramokgopa said that Eskom is working to ensure that there are consistent load-shedding reprieves so that periods of no power cuts are not followed by long periods of higher stages of rolling blackouts.

“The candle lights will be there not necessarily to perform the primary function of lighting but for celebrating, and we will have proper lights to make sure that we usher in 2024,” said Ramokgopa.

Menzi Mngomezulu, Eskom’s Crisis Communications Manager, corroborated Ramokgopa’s statement and attributed the extension of the reprieve to improved capacity.

“Load shedding will continue to be suspended until next Friday at 16:00. Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate should any significant changes occur.”