Power utility Eskom has announced that it will be implementing stage 6 loadshedding on Thursday from 14:00 to midnight, adding it would also implement stage 6 blackout on Friday from 05:00 heading into the weekend as the strike continues.
This comes as a result of the continued unlawful strike by workers, the power utility said in a statement on Thursday afternoon.
A minimum of stage 4 will be required over the weekend, said Eskom.
“The high levels of staff absenteeism and intimidation of working employees at some of the power stations is still rife. This has made it difficult to conduct routine maintenance and other operational requirements, which will further impact the reliability of generation units.
“Due to the unlawful and unprotected strike, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants, Eskom is still unable to return some generators to service. Eskom is compelled to take this unprecedented step to conserve emergency generation capacity to safeguard the power system. There remains a risk that the stage of load-shedding may have to change at any time, depending on the state of the plant,” Eskom said.
Wage talks between Eskom and unions collapsed last week after the power utility offered workers an increase of 5.3%. The utility increased the offer to 7% which unions have reverted back to their members about.