• Eskom has announced that Stage 4 loadshedding will be implemented from 20:00 this evening.
• The power utility will rotate between Stage 2 and Stage 4 for the rest of the week.
• The increase in loadshedding is to cope with loss of generating units and to replenish energy reserves, according to Eskom.

This week Stage 2 loadshedding has been in effect from the late afternoon into the evening, but that is set to change as Eskom has issued a power alert on X (formerly Twitter) confirming an increase in rolling blackouts.

More specifically the power utility said that Stage 2 loadshedding would take effect countrywide at 16:00 as previously communicated this afternoon, but this would soon be intensified to Stage 4 from 20:00 this evening.

Stage 4 would be in effect until 5:00 tomorrow, with Eskom then rotating between Stages 2 and 4 for the remainder of the week.

As for the course of the increase, Eskom noted that there was a delay In the return to service of three generating units, prompting the ailing power utility to prioritise its energy reserves.

Sharing more information on the current state of affairs, Eskom explained that unplanned outages account for 16 193MW of generating capacity, while planned maintenance sits at 6 171MW.

The only glimmer of hope it was able to provide is that 2 100MW is expected to return on Friday, although that is still not enough to lead to an escape of loadshedding for the upcoming weekend at this stage.

As always, Eskom is calling on South African citizens to shoulder the burden and decrease energy use over the coming days. To stay up to date on blackouts in your area, we suggest downloading the EskomSePush app on your phone.

[Image – Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash]