Eskom suspends load shedding and hopes to keep the lights on for the weekend

Johannesburg – After three days of stage 2 load shedding Eskom said it’s built up enough capacity to keep your lights on over the weekend.

Eskom suspended power cuts for Friday and said it hopes to avoid blackouts over the next 48 hours.

The power utility’s spokesperson Sikhonathi Mantshantsha said: “After recovering three generation units overnight, Eskom is pleased to announce that the supply constraint eased sufficiently to allow for the suspension of load shedding. This also means there will be no load shedding for the weekend.”

South Africans have had to put up with power cuts during a cold front.

Earlier Mantshantsha asked citizens to reduce demand on the fragile grid.

“Eskom still urges the public to use electricity sparingly as the generation infrastructure is unreliable and volatile. Any deterioration in the power system may necessitate an escalation in the stage of load shedding.”