Johannesburg - Eskom announced that it would extend stage 4 load shedding throughout Thursday and Friday.
The power utility said that their teams are working around the clock to return units to arrive but in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to carry out unplanned maintenance to return units to service, they unfortunately have to implement loadshedding as a last resort.
Eskom Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said “The extension of the Stage 4 loadshedding is required due to further breakdowns of a generation unit each at Kendal and Majuba this morning due to boiler tube leaks.”
“The breakdowns during the past few days of three generating units each at Kendal and Tutuka power stations, as well as the delayed return of a unit at Camden Power Station continue to contribute to the capacity constraints.”
The Utility has said that, it will continue with its planned maintenance to address known risks at Arnot, Kriel, Matimba, Matla and Camden power stations.
“While some generation units are anticipated to return to service, it is necessary to extend the loadshedding to replenish the emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted by extensive utilisation over the past week.”said Mantshantsha
Eskom currently has 5 209MW on planned maintenance, while another 16 669MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
IOL