It's back to regular programming as Eskom will resume load shedding after giving South Africans an abundance of electricity over the festive season.

Loadshedding was suspended for 18 days, a total of 456 hours, the longest period without loadshedding since 30 May to 20 June 2022, which was 19 days or 442 hours.

Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented between 5 am and 4pm today followed by Stage 3 until 5am on Wednesday. In a statement the power utility said this pattern of Stage 2 load shedding in the morning and Stage 3 load shedding in the evening will be repeated daily until further notice.

"Eskom will closely monitor the power system and communicate any changes should it be required. Unplanned outages are currently at 16231MW per generating capacity out of of service for planned maintenance is 8451 MW."

Eskom explained that their teams are working tirelessly to ensure 4,921MW of generating capacity is returned to service before the end of the week.

"We would like to thank those who heed the call to use electricity sparingly and efficiently, including switching off geysers and pool pumps from 17:00 to 21:00 as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of loadshedding," said Eskom.