Power utility Eskom has announced that load shedding will be pushed to stage 3 from 14h00 on Friday afternoon until 05:00 on Monday morning.
Thereafter, stage 2 load shedding will be implemented continuously for the rest of the week. The utility said the escalation is due to the loss of an additional five generating units on Friday morning.
“The additional load shedding tonight is required to manage and recover the emergency generation reserves, which have been utilised extensively over the past five days,” said Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.
“Eskom, therefore, urges all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly. Since this morning, three generating units at Tutuka Power Station as well as two Kusile Power Station generating units tripped, necessitating the escalation in the stage of load shedding.”
“The delay in the return to service of Koeberg Unit 2 has exacerbated the capacity shortages. During this weekend, critical planned maintenance at Hydro de Cahorra Bassa in Mozambique, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba, and Camden power stations will be carried out in preparation for the week ahead,” Mantshantsha said.
Eskom said it currently has 4,588MW on planned maintenance, while another 17,131MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
The power utility will hold a media briefing on Monday to update the public on the state of the power system. Any significant changes will be promptly communicated.
Source: Business Tech, Eyewitness News, The Citizen, Engineering News, image from Twitter: The South African