Eskom Says 5 of Its Coal-fired Generation Units Successfully Repaired

The power utility was on Friday afternoon forced to implement Stage 3 load shedding due to failures at two of Eskom’s best-performing power stations, Matimba and Lethabo.

FILE: Eskom's Megawatt Park in Johannesburg. Picture: Eyewitness News

JOHANNESBURG - Eskom said five of its coal-fired generation units have been successfully repaired, and its reserves have been returned to service, allowing it to halt load shedding.  

On Friday afternoon, the power utility was forced to implement Stage 3 load shedding due to failures at two of Eskom’s best-performing power stations, Matimba and Lethabo.  

This came after 10 months of uninterrupted power supply.  

While load shedding was expected to last until midnight, the power utility said it had been able to replenish its emergency reserves sufficiently.  

“After a temporary setback that necessitated the implementation of load shedding over the weekend, Eskom has suspended load shedding as of 06:00 today [Sunday], due to the recovery of sufficient emergency reserves,” said Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena.  

“This past Friday, Eskom announced that it had encountered several breakdowns over the past week, necessitating extended repair times and the full use of its emergency reserves. As promised, Eskom has since replenished these reserves, with dam levels fully replenished and open-cycle gas turbines adequately recovered, ensuring a stable supply.”