Durban - South African power utility company Eskom said on Thursday that the country would continue with stage 3 load shedding until Friday, and thereafter stage 4.
From 5am to 4pm on Friday, stage two load shedding will be implemented.
Eskom said there was a possibility that stage 1 and 2 could be implemented next week.
The schedule expected to play out over the weekend can be seen below.
Eskom said 16 585 megawatts of capacity was unavailable due to breakdowns.
“The emergency generation reserves are almost depleted, both the diesel and pumped storage dam levels. These, together with persistent high levels of breakdowns of generating units, are among the major contributors to the continuing generation capacity shortages.
“Eskom will publish a further update as soon as any significant changes occur.”
As power cuts persist, Eskom said that since Tuesday evening, a generating unit each at Duvha, Kendal and Medupi power stations had been returned to service.
Eskom remained a focal point in the Medium-Term Budget Speech delivered by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana yesterday. The SOE’s debt looms like a cloud over the country’s finances.
IOL