Eskom head office in Sandton, Johannesburg. Photo: Getty Images
The continued shortage of generation capacity during the evening peak has prompted Eskom to move the country to Stage 2 load shedding from 17:00 until 22:00 tonight.
“Several generating units are expected to return to service starting this afternoon and through the weekend,” said the power utility in a statement.
Eskom said it remains vigilant of the constrained grid and will adjust the stages of load shedding accordingly.
“Since yesterday (Thursday) afternoon a generating unit each at the Majuba, Tutuka, Grootvlei, Kriel and Matimba power stations were returned to service,” said Eskom in a statement.
This, however, is still insufficient to suspend the blackouts as a generation unit each at the Kriel, Kusile, Majuba, Camden, and Matla power stations either tripped or were taken offload for repairs.
One generation unit at Kusile Power Station is expected to return to service by Friday.
Eskom said it currently has 2,094MW on planned maintenance, while another 16,305MW of capacity is
unavailable due to breakdowns.
The chilly weather conditions have seen increased demand for electricity as many people switch on their heaters to stay warm.
But this will add to the demand for power throughout this period, particularly during the evening and morning peaks.
“Eskom would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect
the national grid. We, therefore, urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially
between 05:00 – 09:00 in the mornings and 16:00 – 22:00 in the evenings.”
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