Eskom has temporarily suspended the blackout since Sunday morning, citing adequate restoration of generating capacity.
The power company reports that the power outage will resume from 5:00 p.m. today.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonati Mantshantsha explains: “The load shedding was lifted at 08:00 this morning due to sufficient restoration of generating capacity and hydro storage dam levels. Offloading will resume at 5pm and the stage will be confirmed in the afternoon and the stage will be announced in the afternoon.”
Power outages affect reservoir levels
The David Kruiper Municipality in Upington, Northern Cape, says it is struggling to fill its reservoirs due to power cuts.
Temperatures in one of South Africa’s hottest cities have hovered around the mid-thirties for the past week, with no respite.
The municipality’s spokesman, Patrick Williams, says the constant blackouts and high demand for water have left the reservoirs almost empty. The water level in the reservoirs is critically low and the municipality is not getting enough time to replenish them.
Williams urged residents to use water sparingly.
“As we all know, water is pumped out of the river by machines that run on electricity. So as a result of unloading, we have difficulty pumping water into reservoirs. And as soon as the water enters the reservoirs, it is used up very quickly. Therefore, we urge residents to use water sparingly, not to use water to irrigate gardens, not to wash cars and not to fill swimming pools.”
