After six days of Stage 4 loadshedding Eskom has declared that it will implement Stage 2 loadshedding on Friday (22nd March).
Starting at 09:00 today Stage 2 loadshedding will be in effect and will run through until 23:00 this evening. Stage 2 calls for 2 000MW of power to be loadshed as opposed to the 4 000MW Stage 4 calls for.
Eskom has implemented Stage 1 loadshedding since 23:00 on Thursday with that session set to end at 09:00 this morning.
While the downgrade of the loadshedding stage may come as welcome relief to some we must remind you that we’re not out of the woods yet. Earlier this week Pravin Gordhan and Eskom chairperson Jabu Mabuza said that we’d know more about the troubles at Eskom in 10 days.
Eskom was also dealt a massive blow on Wednesday afternoon when the Allandale substation in Gauteng caught fire leaving many parts of Midrand without power.
NOTICE: Eskom has dispatched its technicians to attend to an Allandale substation that is currently on fire. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage. The areas affected by the power outage include Ivory Park and parts of Thembisa. Eskom apologises for the inconvenience. pic.twitter.com/rmrv9JySTk
— Khulu Phasiwe (@KhuluPhasiwe) March 20, 2019
The Allandale substation is back up and running following repairs according to Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe.
South Africans should pay careful attention to their loadshedding schedules particularly when loadshedding is meant to end. We have experienced a number of faults that occur when our loadshedding is meant to end prompting us to report the problem to our municipality.
You could also take the plunge and get yourself a generator if this last week of power cuts has been the last straw for you.