• Eskom will implement Stage 5 outages today from 10:00 to 16:00.
• This is after further breakdowns led to reduced generation capacity. 
• The utility says that it will provide a further update at 16:00 on Tuesday, but an incoming cold front could mean bad news for the loadshedding outlook.

Continued breakdowns of Eskom’s generating units have led to the implementation of Stage 5 loadshedding for Tuesday.

This after breakdowns and delays in repairs forced Eskom towards Stage 4 on Monday after a weekend of somewhat reduced outages.

According to an Eskom update published on Tuesday morning on X, the loss of four generation units overnight means that Stage 5 will be the set for the day until 16:00 when the utility will provide another update.

Stage 5 was implemented during Monday evening at 18:20 after Eskom announced that its emergency generation reserves were depleted.

“In order to replenish pumped storage dam levels overnight and to maintain sufficient emergency generation reserves, Stage 5 loadshedding will be implemented tonight from 22:00 until 05:00 tomorrow. Thereafter, Stage 4 loadshedding will continue to be implemented as previously communicated,” reads the previous announcement.

Stage 4 lasted a few hours as Stage 5 will be implemented at 10:00 this morning. However, mounting problems at the utility’s power station, now also exacerbated by delays in repairs and depleted emergency reserves paints a grim picture for this week’s loadshedding outlook.

Electricity demand could increase due to the incoming cold front being felt in Gauteng, parts of Mpumalanga and the Eastern Cape.

This could further compound an already strained power system, and lead to Stage 6 outages, especially in the evening hours. We will update this article with Eskom’s 16:00 statement.

[Image – Photo by Fré Sonneveld on Unsplash]