Stage 2 load shedding on Thursday
Eskom has announced that stage 2 load shedding will be implemented on Thursday due to insufficient capacity to meet demand.
Load shedding will take place between 16h00 and 21h00, the power utility said.
Eskom warned earlier in the day that its systems were under severe strain, and any loss in generating capacity would force it to introduce load shedding at short notice.
Since the warning, two generating units – one at Tutuka and one at Medupi power stations – were forced offline, leading to unplanned outages of 14,130MW, on top of the 2,924MW offline for planned maintenance.
The power utility said that it expects power demand to peak in the evening, with colder weather pushing consumers to plug in heaters and other devices as they seek heat.
It appealed to the public to reduce the usage of electricity to help ease the pressure on the system.
The country has managed to avoid load shedding since early June, where power outages were ramped up to stage 4.
#PowerAlert2
Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 21:00 tonight due to shortage of generation capacity@News24 @SABCNews @NewzroomAfrika @eNCA @IOL @ewnupdates @SundayTimesZA @SowetanLIVE @dailysunsa pic.twitter.com/YijqEXvEJm
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) July 22, 2021
For those living in the major metros, the load shedding schedules are available here:
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.
Read: Eskom warns of load shedding at short notice due to cold weather demand