Eskom downgrades to stage 3 load shedding on Wednesday night

Power cuts were implemented last week owing to increased demand as the country faced a cold snap.

Residents and businesses went from stage 2 to stage 4 power cuts in a matter of days with the power utility experiencing strain on the power grid.

But according to Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha the situation had slightly improved.

"Having returned to service six generation units over the past 24 hours, and with three more units set to return tomorrow, Eskom is pleased to be able to reduce the implementation of load shedding to Stage 3 starting at 22:00 tonight."

Load shedding is still expected to persist until Friday.

"Eskom will continue to adjust the stage of load shedding depending on the level of breakdowns," Mantshantsha added.

More than 14 000 MW of capacity is currently unavailable due to unplanned breakdowns while more than 5000 MW is off the grid due to planned maintenance.

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