Power utility Eskom says load shedding will move to stage four on Thursday 4 August 2022, between 16:00-24:00, due to continued shortage of generation capacity.
“Due to a shortage of generation capacity, coupled with the high demand due to the colder weather, stage 2 load shedding will be implemented at 05:00-16:00 tomorrow (Thursday). Load shedding will then be increased to stage 4 during the evening peak period of 16:00-24:00. It is anticipated that stage 2 will be implemented at 05:00-24:00 on Friday,” it said in a statement.
The utility said this load shedding will assist in recovering emergency generation reserves, which were used to meet demands over the past few days.
Eskom’s announcement of stage 4 load shedding comes after it had announced stage 2 load shedding earlier.
“The delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Koeberg and the Kusile power stations, as well as the unplanned breakdowns of a generation unit each at Cadem, Grootvlei, Lethabo, Majuba, Medupi and two units at Hendrina power stations, have exacerbated the capacity constraints,” said Eskom.
Some generation units are expected to return to service over the next few days, the group added. “While the return of unit 2 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station is anticipated for Friday night, should there be further delays, or other unit breakdowns, load shedding might have to be extended into the weekend.”
The utility said it currently has 2,931MW on planned maintenance, while another 15,040 MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
Source: Business Tech, My Broadband, IOL, image from Twitter: Power FM