Power cuts, as a result of loadshedding, were expected to continue through the remainder of the week, power utility Eskom said.
“Due to further breakdowns of generating units at Majuba and Arnot power stations on Tuesday, as well as delays in returning units to service at Arnot and Tutuka power stations, Eskom regrets to inform the public that stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented starting at 10:00 on Wednesday, 2 June until 22:00 on Friday, 4 June,” Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said.
This comes amid the power utility warning of the possibility of loadshedding being implemented at short notice in the last few days of last month.
Mantshantsha said the latest bout of loadshedding would be implemented as a result of emergency generation reserves being used extensively in the past few days to avoid loadshedding during the day.
“This has resulted in these being depleted, reducing available capacity. It is therefore necessary to implement loadshedding continuously until Friday 22:00, in order to replenish the emergency reserves,” he said.
He said breakdowns currently totalled 13 610MW of capacity while another 1 330MW were unavailable due to planned maintenance.
“Eskom teams are working hard to return generation units to service, as well as, replenish the emergency reserves,” Mantshantsha said.
By midday on Tuesday, he had said that stage 2 loadshedding would be effected until the early hours of Wednesday, due to the breakdown of generating units at the Kriel, Arnot, Majuba and Tutuka power stations.
Delays in returning generating units to service had also been recorded at the Duvha and Tutuka power stations.
“This loadshedding will also assist to replenish the emergency generation reserves which have been utilised extensively over the past three weeks to avoid loadshedding during the day,” Mantshantsha said at the time.
On Monday, he said stage 2 loadshedding was necessitated due to higher demand in power due to the cold front which settled in earlier than was expected, along with high breakdowns of generation units.
“The generation supply constraints will persist throughout the high winter demand period, which increases the likelihood of loadshedding,” he said.
Last week, the power utility warned about the possibility of loadshedding being effected at short notice due to severe power supply constraints due to breakdowns in generation units and delays in units returning to service.
Matshantsha further called on members of the public to reduce their usage of electricity to assist with getting the capacity constraints.
“Eskom will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the system,” he said.
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