Cape Town - Power utility Eskom has announced that Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 9pm on Friday until 6am on Saturday.
"Due to the loss of an additional 4 units, we regret that Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented at 21:00 tonight until 6:00 on Sunday. Unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 11 427MW as at 20:00 this evening, while to supplement the shortage in capacity," the power utility said in a statement released on Friday.
Eskom has once again reminded South Africans that there is a possibility of increased loadshedding over the next 18 months.
In his State of the Nation Address (SONA) in the National Assembly, President Cyril Ramaphosa blamed "Eskom's inability" for the load shedding.
"The load shedding over the last few months has had a debilitating effect on our economy and our people. At its core, load-shedding is the inevitable consequence of Eskom’s inability over many years – due to debt, lack of capacity and state capture – to service its power plants.”
Ramaphosa said that in order for Eskom to undertake the fundamental maintenance necessary to improve the reliability of supply, load-shedding will remain a possibility for the immediate future.
He pledged that government would implement measures that will fundamentally change the trajectory of energy generation as Eskom works to restore its operational capabilities.