Eskom to implement stage 2 loadshedding until Sunday

Eskom has released an announcement that it will implement stage 2 loadshedding from today 5 February until Sunday, 7 February.

This is set to commence at 12pm today.

#Loadshedding We regret to inform you that loadshedding stage 2 will be implemented from 12pm today until Sunday evening.  More information to follow shortly

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) February 5, 2021

UPDATE:

The loadshedding has been exacerbated by the forced shutdown of five generating units at the Medupi Power Station as a result of the inability to get coal into the units due to the heavy rain in the Lephalale area last night.

The area experienced 65mm of rain, which added to the constraints caused by the heavy rains due to cyclone storm Eloise over the past two weeks.

Eskom has implemented contingency plans and deployed additional resources to deal with the heavy rainfalls in the Mpumalanga and Limpopo areas, and the teams are working hard to return as many of these units to service as soon as possible.

The power utility stated that it currently has 4 114MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 739MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned maintenance.

“The system remains vulnerable and unpredictable. Loadshedding is implemented as a last resort in order to protect the integrity of the system,” Eskom said.

Eskom will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power system.