Cape Town – Eskom has announced it will be implementing Stage 2 load shedding from 5pm until 10pm because of continued constraints on the power system.
It said a shortage of generation capacity during the evening peak required the implementation of Stage 2 load shedding on Thursday.
“Last night (Wednesday) a generating unit at Lethabo Power Station was taken offline for repairs.
“One generation unit each at Kusile and Tutuka power stations were returned to service.
“A generation unit each at Matimba and Tutuka power stations are expected to return to service this afternoon (Thursday),” Eskom said.
The power utility said it currently had a shortage of 2 379MW because of planned maintenance while a further 15 365MW of capacity was unavailable thanks to breakdowns.
“The onset of winter has seen increased demand and this will lead to capacity constraints throughout this period, particularly during the evening and morning peaks.
“Unfortunately, this would generally require the implementation of load shedding during the evening peaks
“Eskom would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid,” the power utility said.
It has also urged South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly from 5am to 9am and 4pm to 10pm.
IOL