Eskom has announced that stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented between 17:00 today and 05:00 on Wednesday.

“This loadshedding is required in order for Eskom to replenish the emergency generation reserves, which have been utilised significantly since the past weekend.”

Eskom said the loadshedding was due to multiple generating unit failures over the past 24 hours.

Further development to the #PowerAlert: Medupi Unit 3 broke down a short while ago. This requires Stage 2 loadshedding to be implemented continuously starting at 17:00 this afternoon until 05:00 on Wednesday. https://t.co/l1et1AKPdn

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 7, 2022

“Since this morning, a unit each at the Matla, Kendal, Matimba, Kusile and Grootvlei power stations tripped, while a unit each at Arnot and Hendrina power stations were forced shut down. This, in addition to other units that had tripped during the weekend, reduced available generation capacity, forcing Eskom to rely heavily on emergency generation reserves to keep the lights on.”

Eskom said in a media statement while it is expected that some generation units will return to service over the next 24 hours, the power utility asked South Africans to reduce their usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.

“We will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the power system.”