Just when you thought things were improving Eskom announced on Wednesday they will implement stage 2 load shedding from 10am which is likely to continue until 10pm.

According to an official statement released by Eskom “If there is a need to move to stage 3, we will communicate accordingly. This is due to a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently out of service due to planned and unplanned outages.

“Stage 2 load shedding requires a reduction of about 2 000MW – meaning that although certain areas will be without electricity for a certain period, about 93 per cent of South Africans will still continue to receive full power supply at that time.

“We request all customers to assist us in managing demand by urgently switching off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day, which will reduce electricity demand and thus alleviate pressure on the electricity grid. It should be noted that Eskom implements load shedding as a last resort to protect the national grid from a total shutdown. We utilise all necessary emergency resources at our disposal, but if demand does not decrease, we implement load shedding.

“Commercial customers, particularly shopping centres and office blocks, can make a big difference by switching off non-essential lights and not leaving office equipment such as photocopiers and computers in standby mode after hours.

“Eskom will use the published load shedding schedules which are available on the Eskom website for Eskom customers. Eskom customers can also contact our customer call centre 0860 037 566.

“Municipal customers should contact their municipalities for information. Eskom will provide regular updates on the status of the power system through all the media platforms.”

Part of the 49Million initiative? Why not?