Eskom pushes load shedding to stage 4 until Friday morning

After increasing load shedding to stage 3 on Wednesday afternoon, Eskom has announced that stage 4 power cuts will be implemented from 4pm on Thursday afternoon until 5am on Friday morning.

Thereafter, stage 3 load shedding will be implemented until Sunday morning.

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The struggling power utility said the rolling blackouts were due to delays in returning seven generating units to service.

“The further delays in returning to service a generating unit each at Arnot, Camden, Kendal, Kriel, Matla and two units at Majuba power station has contributed to the capacity constraints,” Eskom said in a statement.

The parastatal said it currently had 6 014MW on planned maintenance, while another 17 278MW of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns and delays in returning generators to service.

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Eskom said it would publish a further update as soon as there are any significant changes to the country’s electricity grid.

“Eskom requests the public to reduce the usage of electricity and to exercise patience and tolerance during this difficult period.”

Last year, South Africans experienced the worst year of load shedding on record, with businesses and households devastated by the rolling blackouts as Eskom struggled to keep the lights on.

The country’s energy crisis is expected to persist further into 2023, with more load shedding stages on the cards, according to experts.

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