NEWS

 

Breaking News Update: The body of Desiree Baartman, a woman reported missing in Gqeberha, has been discovered.

Improved version: The lifeless remains of Desiree Baartman, a woman reported missing in Gqeberha, were discovered by law enforcement authorities late Tuesday night. Her body was found in a stormwater drain adjacent to Stanford Road.

Johnny Baartman, the former husband of Desiree, was taken into custody on Monday, accused of her murder. He is scheduled to make another court appearance at the Gqeberha Magistrate's Court on Wednesday.

Desiree had been reported missing since June 9th.

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ESKOM LIVE | Overnight Respite from Load Shedding

Relief from power outages during the night

Eskom announced in a concise statement on Wednesday that due to the stable and ample generation capacity, the implementation of load shedding will be temporarily halted from midnight until 16:00 on Thursday.

However, starting from 16:00 and lasting until midnight, Stage 3 load shedding will be enforced. This cycle will be repeated on a daily basis until further updates are provided by Eskom.

Eskom has announced that Stage 4

load shedding will be in effect from 16:00 on Sunday until midnight. However, load shedding will be temporarily suspended until 16:00 on Monday. Starting from Monday until Wednesday, load shedding will be reduced to Stage 3, occurring from 16:00 until midnight.

Currently, there are breakdowns affecting 16,115MW of generating capacity, and an additional 3,766MW of generating capacity is out of service for planned maintenance. In the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Arnot and Kendal power stations has been restored to service. However, a unit each at Kriel and Hendrina power stations has been taken out of service due to breakdowns.

Eskom stated that the delays in returning generating units to service at Grootvlei, Hendrina, Majuba, and Tutuka power stations are contributing to the existing capacity constraints.

This weekend, we can expect the return of daytime load shedding. According to a statement from Eskom, Stage 3 load shedding will commence from 16:00 until midnight on Friday, in accordance with previous notices. Subsequently, on Saturday, we will experience Stage 1 load shedding from 05:00 until 16:00, followed by Stage 4 until midnight. This alternating pattern will continue on Sunday. Below is the complete schedule for reference.

Effective immediately and until further notice

there will be no load shedding during daylight hours. However, Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented during the evening peak period. This adjustment has been made to accommodate the ongoing efforts to improve the available generation capacity.

Specifically, load shedding will be suspended from midnight until 16:00 each day, providing relief to electricity consumers. However, starting from 16:00 until midnight, Stage 3 load shedding will be in effect.

Presently, breakdowns have resulted in a decrease of 16,056MW in generating capacity, while an additional 2,407MW of capacity is unavailable due to planned maintenance.

Eskom has recently restored a generating unit at both Kriel and Majuba power stations. However, breakdowns have forced the shutdown of generating units at Duvha, Hendrina, Kendal, Lethabo, and Matla power stations. Delays in restoring generating units at Arnot, Camden, and Hendrina power stations are exacerbating the existing capacity constraints.

Eskom has declared a temporary halt to load shedding until Tuesday evening at 16:00

, citing an increase in available generation capacity. However, starting at that time, load shedding will swiftly escalate to Stage 4 and continue until Wednesday at 05:00, after which it will revert to Stage 1 as previously announced. This alternating pattern will persist until further updates are provided.

Eskom has provided an updated schedule for load shedding during the upcoming week. To manage the electricity demand, Stage 2 load shedding will be in effect from 16:00 on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday.

After this period, Eskom has announced a temporary suspension of load shedding until 16:00 on Monday, citing an improvement in available generation capacity. However, starting at 16:00 on Monday, Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Tuesday. Following that, the load shedding level will be reduced to Stage 1 until 16:00. This daily pattern will continue until further notice, according to Eskom.

During overnight periods of lower electricity demand, there may be a few hours when load shedding is suspended to manage the system, as stated by Eskom.

Eskom also provided an update on the generating capacity. Breakdowns have resulted in a reduction of 15,846MW of generating capacity, while 2,239MW of capacity is out of service due to planned maintenance. In the past 24 hours, Eskom successfully restored a generating unit each at Kendal, Kriel, Matla, and two generating units at Lethabo power stations. Additionally, Cahora Bassa power station resumed service following a failure on Friday afternoon.

However, during the same period, breakdowns led to the removal of a generation unit each at Arnot, Camden, and Medupi power stations. The delayed return to service of generating units at Grootvlei, Hendrina, Majuba, and Tutuka power stations is contributing to the current capacity constraints, Eskom explained.