• Eskom has issued a power alert this morning confirming that loadshedding has been lowered to Stage 2.
• The power utility says “adequate emergency reserves” are part of the reason why the loadshedding level has been reduced.
• Eskom also anticipates lower energy demand this weekend, but if there is a spike in usage or loss in generating capacity, the level could quickly intensify.

Having dealt with a mix of Stage 6, Stage 4, and Stage 3 loadshedding this week, South Africans will get some respite as Eskom this morning confirmed that the level of rolling blackouts is being lowered to Stage 2 until further notice.

In a power alert, the company said that Stage 2 loadshedding would be implemented from 10:00 this morning.

As for why the level has been lowered just before the weekend gets underway, Eskom explained that, “the return of additional generating units, adequate emergency reserves, and anticipated lower electricity demand necessitate the reduction of loadshedding to Stage 2 from 10:00 today until further notice.”

It did, however, warn that it would, “closely monitor the power system and communicate any significant changes as they occur.”

As such, should unexpected breakdowns in generating units occur over the weekend, or demand greatly exceeds what has been anticipated, we could arrive at higher levels of loadshedding come Monday morning.

Hopefully that will, not be the case, as both President Cyril Ramaphosa and Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa have noted that the “worst is behind us” and the “end is in sight” when it comes to loadshedding.

That may just be politicking in an election year, but government needs to win over as many voters as possible, and an end of loadshedding would certainly swap many at the voting stations and vice versa.

[Image – Photo by Possessed Photography on Unsplash]