Eskom blackouts are back

Eskom has announced it will implement stage 2 load-shedding on Thursday and Friday night to replenish depleted emergency generation reserves following breakdowns at several power stations.

“Stage 2 load-shedding will be implemented starting tonight from 21:00 to 05:00 in the morning, and will again resume on Friday night at 21:00 to 05:00 on Saturday morning,” Eskom stated.

The announcement comes after the utility warned on Thursday morning that it might have to implement load-shedding at short notice.

Eskom said its emergency reserves had depleted faster than expected to keep the power on during business hours after further breakdowns of a generating unit each at Kriel and Tutuka power stations on Thursday.

“Delays in returning generating units at Tutuka, Grootvlei and Kendal have also contributed to the depletion of emergency reserves,” the utility stated.

Total breakdowns stood at 14,982MW as of Thursday evening, while planned maintenance was at 5,334MW of capacity.

Eskom warned that it could be necessary to continue load-shedding during the day and over the weekend if the emergency generation reserves did not recover sufficiently.

“Eskom will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the power system,” it stated.

“While Eskom expects a number of generating units to return to service from breakdowns during the course of the next few days, we urge the public to reduce the usage and to continue using electricity sparingly to assist in avoiding load-shedding,” the utility concluded.

Eskom last implemented load-shedding on 22 July 2021.

Below is Eskom’s statement confirming stage 2 load-shedding for Thursday and Friday night.

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