Eskom reinstates Stage 2 load shedding from 9pm on Wednesday

Mayor of the Stellenbosch Gesie van Deventer said the municipality is determined to alleviate load shedding for its residents. Picture: Stellenbosch Municipality/Facebook

Mayor of the Stellenbosch Gesie van Deventer said the municipality is determined to alleviate load shedding for its residents. Picture: Stellenbosch Municipality/Facebook

Published Mar 17, 2021

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Johannesburg - Power utility Eskom has announced that load shedding will revert back to Stage 2 from Wednesday 9pm until at least Saturday 5am.

The power utility announced on Tuesday that it would implement Stage 1 load shedding until Saturday 5am from Wednesday morning.

Eskom had announced that load shedding would be reduced from Stage 2 to Stage 1 from Wednesday until Saturday after they reported that four generation units at Kusile, Grootvlei, Kriel and Matla as well as the Cahora Bassa line from Mozambique, had been restored.

On Wednesday, Eskom apologised to the public for reinstating Stage 2 load shedding.

“This escalation in the stage is required to safeguard the power system after a loss of generating capacity at the Medupi, Arnot, Duvha and Kendall power stations.

“In addition to Eskom’s inability to supply the full demand, we have seen an increase in demand which has put a further strain on the emergency generation reserves today,” the power utility said.

“The contributing factors for the losses of boiler tube leaks and units tripping, as well as the delay in the return to service of a single unit at the Kendall power station.

“Eskom is working hard to return the units back to service as soon as possible. We currently have 6052 MW unplanned maintenance, while another 12,690 MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. This has led to our inability to supply the full demand,” said Eskom.

Eskom also called on the public to continue using electricity sparingly.

“The system remains vulnerable and unpredictable. We will communicate time asleep sleep should there be any significant changes to the power system,” Eskom said.

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