Thursday, 07 October 2021: In order to replenish emergency generation reserves, Eskom regrets to inform the public that Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented this evening at 21:00 until 05:00. To continue replenishing the emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted in order to keep the lights on during the business hours, this loadshedding will be repeated on Friday night from 21:00 to 05:00 on Saturday.
Emergency reserves have been depleted faster than expected due to further breakdowns of a generating unit each at Kriel and Tutuka power stations today. Delays in returning generating units at Tutuka, Grootvlei and Kendal have also contributed to the depletion of emergency reserves.
Total breakdowns amount to 14 982MW while planned maintenance is 5 334MW of capacity.
Should the emergency generation reserves not recover sufficiently, it may be necessary to continue loadshedding during the day and over the weekend. Eskom will communicate promptly should there be any significant changes to the power system.
While Eskom expects a number of generating units to return to service from breakdowns during the course of the next few days, we urge the public to reduce the usage and to continue using electricity sparingly to assist in avoiding loadshedding.
Eskom has not implemented loadshedding since 22 July 2021.
ENDS
