Adding to South Africa\u2019s level 3 lockdown woes, Eskom has announced that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented on Wednesday and Thursday evening.<\/p>\n
The load shedding will take place overnight, starting at 22h00 on Wednesday (6 January), and ending at 05h00 on Thursday. This will again be repeated on Thursday night, the power utility said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe load shedding is necessary in order to recover and preserve the emergency generation reserves that have been utilised to support the system during the week following the earlier-than-planned shutdown of Koeberg Unit 1 and other units whose return to service has been delayed,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n
The power utility said it currently has 6,672MW on planned maintenance and another 12,073MW of capacity remains unavailable due to unplanned maintenance.<\/p>\n
It said its teams are working around the clock to return as many of the affected units to service as soon as possible. Eskom further urged the public to reduce electricity consumption to help it minimise load shedding.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe system remains vulnerable and unpredictable,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs previously communicated, Eskom continues to implement reliability maintenance during this period, and thus the system will continue to be constrained and the risk of load shedding remains elevated.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the moment the equivalent of two large power stations is out for planned maintenance, adding pressure to the system,” it said.<\/p>\n
Eskom said it would continue to update the public on the state of the national power grid.<\/p>\n
\n#PowerAlert<\/a> 1<\/p>\n
Eskom to implement Stage 2 loadshedding from 22:00 until 05:00 for two nights@News24<\/a> @SABCNews<\/a> @NewzroomAfrika<\/a> @eNCA<\/a> @IOL<\/a> @ewnupdates<\/a> @SundayTimesZA<\/a> @SowetanLIVE<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/sLPsf5c7gv<\/a><\/p>\n
\u2014 Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 6, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n