Eskom crisis deepens: Stage-4 load shedding until Friday

Eskom’s electricity supply crisis is intensifying, with the state-owned power monopoly saying on Wednesday that it will implement stage-4 load shedding from midday until 5am on Friday.

Eskom had previously said it would cut power at stage 2 — 2GW shed from the grid — for the rest of the week, but a deterioration of its plant has now dramatically worsened the situation. Stage-4 load shedding involves shedding 4GW of supply from the grid.

Eskom said it will return to stage-2 load shedding from 5am on Friday to 5am on Saturday. The intensifying power cuts come just days before South Africans go to the polls next Monday in municipal elections where the rolling blackouts are likely to feature heavily in voters’ minds.

The intensifying power cuts come just days before South Africans go to the polls

“Over the past 24 hours, a unit each at Medupi, Kusile and Matla power stations tripped while a unit each at Lethal and Arnot power stations were forced to shut down,” Eskom said.

“This constrained the power system further, requiring extensive use of emergency reserves and therefore hampering the recovery of these reserves,” it said.

“Some generating units have returned to service and we anticipate another two units to return to service during the day. In addition, Koeberg unit 1 is expected to return to service today and begin ramping up to full output within 48 hours.”