Slight relief for South Africans as embattled power utility Eskom reduces to stage 4 loadshedding until 4pm. The power utility said it had managed to replenish its emergency reserves and that the country has been moved to stage 4 power cuts.
“Overnight we have replenished our emergency reserves sufficiently to not require Stage 6 loadshedding during the morning. However, Stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented from 4pm until 10pm so as not to deplete these reserves any further. Stage 4 is currently being implemented until 4pm,” the power utility announced this morning.
This announcement comes after Eskom had announced that Stage 6 loadshedding would be implemented on Thursday and Friday.
The utility had intensified power cuts this week amid a wage strike from members of the labour union National Union of Mineworkers and the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa).
Eskom workers downed their tools as the unions and Eskom were at logger heads over the wage increases. Some workers returned to work on Wednesday, but this has not helped ease the strain on the grid.
The utility blamed the strike for the drastic loadshedding stages which have angered many South Africans. Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter is expected to give a briefing on Friday.