Eskom has announced that stage 6 loadshedding will be implemented from 16h00 until 22h00 on Tuesday due to the illegal strike at its power utilities and other offices across the country.
“Due to unlawful industrial action, Stage 6 loadshedding will regretfully be implemented at 16h00 until 22h00 this evening. Stage 4 will then continue to be implemented until midnight,” Eskom said in a statement.
“Three of the 10 generation units that had tripped during the night have been returned to service. This, however, is still insufficient to stave off the implementation of Stage 6 loadshedding for this evening and tomorrow evening. We currently have 3 218MW on planned maintenance, while another 17 621MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns,” Eskom said.
Loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 2 from midnight until 05h00 on Wednesday morning when it will switch back to Stage 4 until 16h00 on Wednesday. Stage 6 loadshedding will then again be implemented at 16h00-22h00 on Wednesday evening.
Eskom attributed the heightened level of loadshedding to the illegal industrial action that commenced at its sites on Friday.
“This is due to the unlawful and unprotected labour action, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants. This has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plant from damage. There is a high risk that the stage of loadshedding may have to change at any time, depending on the state of the plant,” Eskom said.
“Eskom continues to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary. We appeal to all South Africans to help limit the impact of the shortages by continuing to reduce the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.”
