Eskom announces return to stage-4 load shedding

South Africa’s state-owned electricity utility announced on Tuesday that stage 4 will return from 4pm.

Eskom blamed breakdowns for the escalation in the power cuts, which will be imposed at stage 2 during the day and at stage 4 at night for the foreseeable future.

“The implementation of the higher stages of load shedding is due to the loss of additional generation units over the past 24 hours. However, Eskom will endeavour to reduce stages of load shedding where possible,” the company said.

In the past 24 hours, while a few generating units were returned to service, several others were taken offline for repairs. They include units at Camden, Kendal, Kriel, Kusile and Matimba. Delays in returning to service a generating unit each at Tutuka and Kendal power stations is also contributing to the current capacity constraints.

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“Eskom teams are working tirelessly to return these generating units to service.”

Eskom said it currently has 6GW of generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance. Breakdowns are at 16.2GW of capacity. The expected peak demand on Tuesday evening is 28.5GW.  – © 2023 NewsCentral Media

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