Eskom increases load-shedding and announces weekend power cuts — updated timetable

Eskom will implement stage 4 load-shedding throughout Thursday and Friday, with a possibility of lower stages from Saturday morning.

The state-owned power utility had previously hoped to reduce load-shedding to stage 2 from 05:00 on Thursday morning.

“Eskom teams are working around the clock to return units to service, but in view of the shortage of generation capacity and the need to carry out unplanned maintenance to return units to service, we unfortunately have to implement load-shedding as a last resort,” it stated.

“The extension of the stage 4 load-shedding is required due to further breakdowns of a generation unit each at Kendal and Majuba this morning due to boiler tube leaks.”

Eskom said the breakdowns during the past few days of three generating units each at Kendal and Tutuka power stations, as well as the delayed return of a unit at Camden Power Station continue to contribute to the capacity constraints.

“In addition, Eskom will continue with its planned maintenance to address known risks at Arnot, Kriel, Matimba, Matla and Camden power stations,” it said.

“While some generation units are anticipated to return to service, it is necessary to extend the load-shedding to replenish the emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted by extensive utilisation over the past week.”

Eskom said it currently has 5,209MW capacity offline due to scheduled maintenance, while another 16,669MW is unavailable due to breakdowns.

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