Eskom announces stage 4 power cuts from 16:00 today

The power utility says stage 3 load shedding will then be implemented until Sunday morning.

“Due to the delays in returning seven generating units to service, stage 4 load shedding will be implemented from 4 pm this afternoon until 5 am tomorrow morning. Thereafter Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented until 4 pm on Friday. This pattern will be repeated until Sunday morning,” says Eskom's crisis communication manager Menzi Mngomezulu.

Eskom says it’s had to ramp up the rolling power cuts due to further delays in returning to service a generating unit each at Arnot, Camden, Kendal, Kriel, Matla, and two units at Majuba power station.

“We currently have 6 014MW on planned maintenance, while another 17 278MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns and delays in returning generators to service,” Mngomezulu added.

The national power supplier failed to deliver on its promise to keep the lights on, on New Year’s Day after it implemented stage 2 load shedding. 

The power utility further upped the planned outages, announcing stage 3 power cuts on Wednesday.