Eskom has confirmed that stage 2 load-shedding will continue on Saturday and Sunday.
This follows the power utility initiating stage 3 load-shedding on Friday.
“Eskom will implement Stage 2 load-shedding between 08:00 and 22:00 on Saturday and Sunday,” said Eskom.
“This is necessary to replenish the emergency reserves, which were depleted over the past week, in order to better prepare for the coming week.”
“The system remains unreliable and vulnerable and Eskom will continue to communicate the stage of load-shedding should there be any further developments,” it said.
In total, unplanned breakdowns amount to 11,090MW of capacity, while a further 5,371MW is currently not available due to planned maintenance.
“We urge the people of South Africa to help reduce electricity usage in order to assist Eskom to reduce the instance of load-shedding,” said Eskom.
Power constraints to continue
The outlook for load-shedding in South Africa is bleak, with power cuts set to continue over the next few years.
Eskom has said it expects power constraints to persist for at least the next year, adding that load shedding may extend into 2022 depending on the pressure on the system.
Research by the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has an even worse outlook, warning that South Africa should brace itself for exponential increases to load-shedding until 2022.
“Not only will load-shedding continue over the next few years – it will get significantly worse,” said Dr Jarrad Wright and Joanne Calitz of the CSIR.
It is not only Eskom’s generation capacity which is in shambles. Its finances are in an even worse state.
Eskom’s debt ballooned to R488 billion at the end of March 2020, up from R440 billion a year earlier.
The increasing debt is partly a result of the company’s continued losses, which exceeded R20 billion in the last financial year.