Eskom implements stage 4 load-shedding
Eskom has announced that it will implement stage 4 load-shedding at 15:00 on 2 September 2020.
Stage 4 load-shedding will continue until 22:00 tonight, the power utility said.
“Eskom regrets to announce that load-shedding will move from Stage 2 to stage 4 at 15:00 until 22:00 tonight, due to exceptionally high demand,” Eskom said in a tweet.
“Due to the continuing severe generation supply constraints caused by multiple unit breakdowns as well as the additional demand caused by the cold weather, Eskom will escalate the level of load-shedding to sage 4 starting from 15:00 until 22:00,” Eskom said.
The power utility said that load-shedding will persist throughout the weekend as Eskom teams are working to return as many of these generation units to service as possible.
“This load-shedding is necessary in order to conserve and replenish emergency reserves while also maintaining the stability of the power system,” it said.
This follows after Eskom announced that it would implement stage 2 load-shedding from 12:00 until 22:00 on Tuesday 1 September.
The power utility said yesterday that rolling blackouts needed to be implemented due to the breakdown of 10 generation units at seven different power stations over the last two days.
“Eskom regrets to inform the public that due to a severely constrained generation system as a result of multiple-unit breakdowns, it has become necessary to implement stage 2 load-shedding from 12:00 until 22:00 today,” Eskom said in a statement.
“Ten generation units at seven power stations suffered breakdowns in the last 48 hours.”
As of last night, Eskom’s unplanned breakdowns stood at 11,665MW of capacity, with planned maintenance resulting in the further unavailability of 4,558MW of generation capacity.
“As the aged generation infrastructure is unreliable and volatile, this constrained power system is expected to persist for the rest of the week.”
Eskom urged South Africans to reduce electricity usage to help the power utility reduce the possibility of load-shedding.
Eskom to implement Stage 4 loadshedding from 15:00 until 22:00 tonight as power system is
still severely constrained and the cold weather places additional demand on the grid pic.twitter.com/XHSUq7FJSE— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 2, 2020
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