Johannesburg - Eskom is currently implementing stage two load shedding on Sunday, which will continue overnight and all day until 11pm on Monday, the state-owned power utility said.
The probability of load shedding remained high for the week as a result of a shortage of capacity, Eskom said in a statement on Sunday night.
On Sunday morning at 9am, Eskom stated Stage 2 load shedding, expected to continue until 11pm. However, "due to the vulnerability and low level of reliability of the system", Eskom had lost additional units during the course of the day, resulting in unplanned breakdowns increasing to 12 000MW as at 7pm on Sunday.
The additional loss of units required an increase in the use of diesel and water at open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) and pumped storage schemes respectively, in order to supplement capacity.
"Regrettably, as a result we have been unable to conserve water and diesel as required to stop or to minimise load shedding for the coming week. At this stage there is a high probability of load shedding until the end of the week. We remind customers that load shedding is a responsible act to prevent a national blackout," Eskom said.