Stages 5 and 6 load shedding until Friday, says Eskom

Stage 5 load shedding from 5am to 4pm and Stage 6 load shedding from 4pm until 5am will be repeated daily until Friday morning, Eskom said on Tuesday.

The power utility said the breakdowns are currently at 16 784 megawatts (MW) of generating capacity while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 4 987MW.

“Over a period of 24 hours, a generation unit each at Camden, Duvha and Kendal was returned to service. In the same period, a generating unit each at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal and Matla power stations was taken offline for repairs,” it said in the statement.

Eskom said it would publish another update should any significant changes take place.

It said the delay in returning to service a generating unit each at Hendrina, Kendal, Matimba and Matla power stations was also contributing to the current capacity constraints.

“Eskom's load for the evening peak demand is forecasted to increase to 29 542MW. We appeal to the members of the public to reduce demand by switching off non-essential appliances.

“We would like to thank those who heed the call to use electricity sparingly, including switching off geysers and pool pumps from 5pm to 9pm, as this lowers demand and helps in alleviating the pressure on the power system and contributes to lower stages of load-shedding."