Cape Town – Stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 2pm on Friday until 5am on Saturday. Stage 2 will kick in from 5am on Monday.
This comes after the shutdowns of three generating units at Kendal Power Station, the trip of a unit each at Tutuka and Matimba power stations and the delayed return to service of a unit each at Majuba and Lethabo power stations.
The power utility said the stage 4 load shedding is “necessary to stop the use of OCGT (open cycle gas-turbine) generation in order to preserve the remaining fuel at these power stations, which is critically low”.
Eskom said there is insufficient diesel available in the country to continue generating with the OCGTs at the current rate.
It is expected that some generating units will return to service later on Friday and overnight. This will allow a reduction to stage 2 load shedding for rest of the weekend.
Eskom said stage 2 load shedding was necessary to replenish energy generation reserves.
Total breakdowns currently amount to 17 437MW while planned maintenance is 4 361MW of capacity.
IOL