Eskom implements continuous Stage 2 load shedding until Friday

South Africans already hit by a cold front and devastating flooding in parts of the country, will now have to grapple with continuous Stage 2 load shedding until the Good Friday public holiday.

This was confirmed by the embattle state-run power utility in an update announcement early on Wednesday morning.

“Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented continuously from 05:00 on Wednesday to Friday at 05:00 due to further unit failures and continued delays to return units to service,” Eskom said in a statement.

It stressed that the move had “regrettably become necessary”

“The extension of load shedding is caused by the failure of additional units and the continued shortage of generation capacity due to delays in returning to service three generating units at Camden Power Station and two generating units at Tutuka Power Station,” Eskom added.

“Overnight a generation unit each at Medupi, Matla, Kendal and Komati power stations failed while 240MW of power imports from Mozambique was interrupted, exacerbating the supply constraints,” the utility said.

Three generation units were returned to service at Matla, Grootvlei and Camden power stations.

“We currently have 5 379MW on planned maintenance, while another 14 827MW of capacity is unavailable due to unplanned breakdowns.”

“The extension of the load shedding is required to preserve the remaining emergency generation reserves in an attempt to limit the stage of load shedding. Eskom would like to inform the public that any further deterioration in generation capacity may require further load shedding.

Eskom reiterated that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort in order to protect the national grid.