Eskom has announced that stage 4 load-shedding will be implemented from 10:00 today until 05:00 on Monday morning.

“Regretfully, due to additional breakdowns overnight, Eskom was unable to replenish the emergency generation reserves, which has worsened the current generation capacity constraints,” the power utility said in a media statement this morning.

According to Eskom, the implementation of stage 4 is in order to replenish these emergency reserves “in order to contain load-shedding to lower stages next week.”

The power utility says a generation unit at Kendal power station was offline for emergency repairs, while a unit each at  Majuba, Lethabo and Camden power stations, as well as Hydro de Cahorra Bassa in Mozambique, were shut down for critical planned maintenance in preparation for the week ahead.

Overnight a generation unit each at Kusile and Tutuka power stations returned to service.

“We currently have 5 579MW on planned maintenance, while another 16 599MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.”

Eskom said it would hold a media briefing on Monday to update the public on the state of the power system.

“Any further significant changes will be promptly communicated. Eskom urges all South Africans to continue
using electricity sparingly.”