Cape Town - Eskom will implement stage 3 load shedding from 08:00 on Friday morning, and this is likely to continue until 22:00 this evening.
This followed stage 1 and stage 2 load shedding on Thursday, with Eskom assuring customers that load shedding is implemented as a necessary measure to protect the power system.
Deferred generator maintenance has caused an overload of unplanned repairs, resulting in a week of darkness for South Africa.
On Wednesday, unplanned outages resulted in 9 500MW being cut off the grid, while planned outages accounted for 5 000MW, according to Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.
After implementing a fourth day of stage 2 (2 000MW cut) load shedding at 06:00 on Wednesday, Eskom escalated the outages to stage 3 (4 000MW cut) at 16:00.
"Any additional changes on the already vulnerable and constrained power system could lead to a change in the stage of load shedding at short notice. We will communicate if there is a need to change stages," Eskom said in a statement on Wednesday.
"The electricity supply system remains very constrained and vulnerable due to a shortage of generation capacity as several units are currently out of service due to planned and unplanned outages."
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