Cape Town – Eskom has warned that there is a low risk of load shedding on Thursday due to a "constrained" system on Wednesday evening.
"The system is constrained this evening and will require our emergency resources to be utilised extensively in order to avoid load shedding," the power utility said in a statement.
"Open cycle gas turbine generators, which use diesel, would be used to allow for the replenishment of water levels at pumped storage schemes, which were "run flat-out today", Eskom said.
Meanwhile, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan says South Africans are paying up to four times more for electricity than a decade ago – due to finance stealing and cost overruns at the Medupi and Kusile power stations, Fin24 reported.
Comparing Eskom statistics and numbers of a decade ago, Gordhan said: "The numbers are atrocious. The amount of electricity Eskom produces is marginally higher.
"The demand is falling by about 1% per year. The cost of electricity has gone up more than four times. How could you sell the same amount (of electricity) but you’re earning four times more than 10 years ago?
"It's because of tariff increases, and that’s to pay for Medupi and Kusile overruns, all the stealing that happened.
"It's for all the extra you’re paying for coal and maintenance and to original equipment manufacturers, et cetera. And it’s the ordinary citizen and the economy that’s paying the cost."