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Eskom announced that Stage 2 load shedding would be implemented between 10 PM on Wednesday evening to 5 am on Thursday.
This would be repeated on Thursday night.
The power utility said this was necessary in order to recover and preserve the emergency generation reserves that have been utilised to support the system following the earlier than planned shutdown of Koeberg Unit 1 and other units whose return to service has been delayed.
“We currently have 6 672MW on planned maintenance, while another 12 073MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned maintenance,” said spokesperson, Nkosinathi Mantshantsha.
He said Eskom teams were working around the clock to return as many of these units to service as soon as possible and was urging the public to reduce electricity consumption to help minimise load shedding.
“The system remains vulnerable and unpredictable. Loadshedding is implemented as a last resort in order to protect the integrity of the system,” Mantshantsha said.
He said at the moment the equivalent of two large power stations was out for planned maintenance, adding pressure to the system.
