This is despite a fire breaking out at a conveyor belt at Majuba power station. "The fire was contained and no life was lost," the power producer said in a statement on Wednesday evening. 

It previously said the likelihood of power cuts for the remainder of the week is also low. Load shedding could be implemented at short notice with the power system still "vulnerable and unpredictable".

On Wednesday evening Eskom said that unplanned outages were at 13 000MW - over a quarter of its total nominal capacity. The power utility is aiming to reduce breakdowns to below 9 500MW. 

President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the media last week Wednesday after cutting short an official visit to Egypt, saying Eskom had to be more "proactive" and "agile".  

He said at the time that, from Tuesday 17 December to January 15, 2020, Eskom management had given him an assurance that the utility "should not be in a position to have any form of load shedding". 

Ramaphosa added that he had instructed all managers that leave until January is cancelled. 

Fin24