Eskom pushes loadshedding to Stage 5
Eskom has made a sudden announcement on Saturday morning, warning that Stage 5 of loadshedding will be implemented from 10am.
It is expected to last until 5am on Monday morning.
The power utility says five units tripped at Kusile, Arnot, Camden, as well as two units at Duvha Power Station - causing a loss of 2 400MW from Friday night.
It follows the return of Stage 4 of loadshedding that was implemented in the week following breakdowns.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshanstha has warned there may be more bad news and has warned that loadshedding could be pushed to higher stages.
"Should any further breakdowns occur, higher stages of load-shedding may be implemented at short notice. While some generation units are anticipated to return to service, it is necessary to escalate the load shedding to stop the use of the emergency generation reserves and begin the replenishment thereof ahead of the week.
"The emergency generation reserves have been depleted by extensive utilisation to limit the amount of load-shedding over the past two weeks.We currently have 7 210MW on planned maintenance, while another 16 597MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns," says Mantshantsha
Eskom management is expected to hold a media briefing on Sunday to shed more light on the state of the national electricity grid and the plan for loadshedding in the coming week.
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