SOUTH AFRICA - GOOD NEWS! ESKOM SAYS NO LOADSHEDDING IS EXPECTED THIS WINTER

Electricity parastatal Eskom says it is well on its way to achieving its energy availability target and expects no need for load shedding this winter.

"This week we achieved a significant milestone in relation to our target of 80:10:10 (ie, 80% energy availability factor (EAF), 10% planned maintenance, and 10% unplanned maintenance)," it said in a statement.

"On Tuesday, 10 May, we achieved a daily EAF average of 80%. This is a clear indication that we are solidly on track to meet the overall target well before the targeted 2020/21 financial year."

This "remarkable achievement" was also an indication that Eskom's maintenance programme was beginning to bear fruit, with a decrease in unplanned outages as a result of disciplined execution of the programme.

"Our prognosis for winter is that there will be no load shedding. We will continue with a rigorous program of planned maintenance without implementing load shedding while also minimising the usage of open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs). For winter, Eskom is targeting a maintenance budget of 8500MW; in summer we budget 11 500MW.

"We appreciate the support of all our customers and urge them to continue to use electricity sparingly at all times," Eskom said.

VIA - sabc.co.za