Despite having downgraded loadshedding to Stage 1 earlier on Wednesday, Eskom will shift to Stage 2 loadshedding later this evening.
Stage 2 loadshedding will now be in effect from 21:00 on Wednesday evening until 05:00 on Saturday morning.
The reason given by Eskom for the shift to Stage 2 is that it has lost further capacity at Medupi, Arnot, Duvha and Kendal power stations.
“In addition to Eskom’s inability to supply the full demand, we have seen an increase in demand, which has put a further strain on the emergency generation reserves today,” the utility wrote in a power alert.
The capacity loss has been attributed to boiler tube leaks and tripped units. A single unit at Kendal power station also still remains offline and unable tp be returned to service.
“We currently have 6 052MW on planned maintenance, while another 12 690MW of capacity unavailable due to breakdowns and delays. This has led to our inability to supply the full demand,” Eskom added.
Eskom went on to apologise for the inconvenience and uncertainty that loadshedding has caused but asked South Africans to use electricity sparingly in a bid to reduce demand.
In order to safeguard the power system, regrettably loadshedding will be increased to Stage 2
from 21:00 tonight pic.twitter.com/t2vFjtD1lE— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 17, 2021
