Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, which forecasts suspended outages.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 24 May 2024
Eskom has announced that loadshedding remains suspended due to the ongoing improvement in the reliability of its generation fleet.
This suspension has now continued for more than 54 consecutive days, a streak not seen since the period between 5 December 2021 and 2 February 2022.
From 1 April 2024 to 16 May 2024, the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) has reduced to 28.4%, down from 35.4% in the same period last year.
This indicates a more reliable generation fleet with fewer unexpected outages.
The year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) stands at 60.56%, marking an 8.9% improvement compared to the previous year. Notably, the EAF reached a record 70% on 12 May 2024, and has since been maintained between 67% and 70%.
Currently, 4,334 MW of generating capacity is under planned maintenance, consistent with Eskom’s maintenance strategy for the winter season.
Additionally, 3,900 MW of generating capacity was reintegrated into the power system on Monday, 20 May 2024.
Here’s a look at the provisional weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 24 May 2024:
Date | 05:00 – 16:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 | 20:00 – 00:00 | 00:00 – 05:00 |
Fri 24 May 24 | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* |
Sat 25 May 24 | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* |
Sun 26 May 24 | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* |
Winter 2024 outlook
Eskom’s winter outlook, published on 26 April 2024, remains in effect.
The improved generation performance surpasses the forecast, which anticipated unplanned outages ranging from 14,000 MW to 15,500 MW, with loadshedding limited to Stage 2 if necessary.
OCGT usage has significantly decreased, with a load factor of 4.76% from 1 May to 16 May 2024, compared to 22.07% in the same period last year.
Eskom has also reduced its expenditure on OCGTs by 76%, spending R1.25 billion compared to R5.2 billion last year.