Cape Town – Eskom announced it will be implementing Stage 2 load shedding from 9pm on Thursday, until 5am on Friday.
The power utility said it has to do the implementation, in order to replenish its emergency generation reserves.
In a statement released, Eskom said load shedding will be implemented until Saturday.
“Eskom regrets to inform the public that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented this evening, from 9pm until 5am, to continue replenishing the emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted in order to keep the lights on during business hours. This load shedding will be repeated on Friday night, from 9pm to 5am on Saturday,” Eskom said.
It said its emergency reserves have been depleted faster than expected, due to further breakdowns of its generating units, each at the Kriel and Tutuka power stations, on Thursday.
Eskom said there have been delays in returning generating units at Tukuta, Grootvlei and Tutuka power stations to operation, which has also contributed to the depletion of emergency reserves.
“Total breakdowns amount to 14 982MW, while planned maintenance is 5 334MW of capacity. Should the emergency generation reserves not recover sufficiently, it may be necessary to continue load shedding during the day and over the weekend,” the power utility said.
Eksom said it will communicate to the public promptly should there be any significant changes to the power system.
“While Eskom expects a number of generating units to return to service from breakdowns during the course of the next few days, we urge the public to reduce their electricity usage and to continue using electricity sparingly, to assist in avoiding load shedding,” it said.
South Africa has not had any load shedding since July 22.
IOL