Embattled power utility Eskom has announced that it will be implementing stage 2 load shedding on Tuesday evening, with a high possibility of it being extended to Wednesday and Thursday.
Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented between 16h00 and 00h00 on Tuesday, the utility said
“There is also a high possibility that load shedding will require to be implemented during the same time on both Wednesday and Thursday evenings. Eskom will promptly communicate should a need arise,” it said.
The state-owed entity power utility said load shedding is needed due to a shortage in generation capacity.
“The breakdowns of a single generation unit at Arnot Power Station and three at Tutuka Power Station during the last 24 hours, as well as the delays in returning units to service at Arnot, Kusile and Tutuka power stations have put a severe strain on the power generation system,” said Eskom.
The utility has 4,550MW offline on scheduled maintenance, while another 14,128MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
The announcement of power cuts this evening comes after Eskom warned on Monday afternoon that it might need to implement load shedding at short notice. That was after a unit at Kriel, Majuba, Matla and three units at Arnot broke down between Sunday and Monday afternoon.
Eskom has urged all South Africans to continue to use electricity sparingly.
Source: Business Tech, My Broadband, The Citizen, image from Twitter: Times Live