Eskom says high risk of power outages this evening

South Africa’s struggling state-owned power firm Eskom said on Tuesday that there was a high risk of power cuts this evening because of a sharp increase in unplanned outages.

Eskom, which supplies more than 90% of the electricity in Africa’s most industrialised economy, has been grappling with labour unrest as it tries to reverse a decade of steep financial decline by cutting costs.

“Customers are urged to switch off all non-essential appliances in an effort to reduce pressure on the power grid,” Eskom spokesman Khulu Phasiwe wrote on Twitter.