After increasing the load down to stage 3 on Wednesday evening, Eskom has announced that stage 4 power outage will be implemented from 4 pm on Friday evening to 5 am on Friday morning.
Next phase 3 load shedding will be implemented until Sunday morning.
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The struggling power utility said the ongoing outages were due to delays in returning seven generating units to service.
“Further delays in the return to service of generating units each at Arnot, Camden, Kendal, Kriel, Matla and two units at Majuba power station have contributed to capacity constraints,” Eskom said in a statement.
Parastatal said it now has 6 014MW in planned maintenance, while another 17 278MW of capacity is not available due to breakdowns and delays in returning generators to service.
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Eskom says it will issue further updates if there are significant changes to the country’s power grid.
“Eskom appeals to the public to reduce electricity usage and to exercise patience and tolerance during these difficult times.”
Last year, South Africans had their worst ever year in terms of load shedding, with businesses and households devastated by constant blackouts as Eskom struggled to keep the lights on.
The country’s energy crisis is expected to continue until 2023, with more stages of card shedding, according to experts.
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