Stage 4 load shedding in place until further notice

South Africa will have stage 4 load shedding in place until further notice. 

Eskom said late on Friday that this was due to the breakdowns of a generating unit each at Koeberg, Medupi, Kriel, Arnot and Lethabo power stations.

South Africa has been battling record-breaking rolling blackouts, with stage 3 load shedding in place during the day and stage 4 overnight for most of the past week. 

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This week, President Cyril Ramaphosa said government remains committed to its plans to solve the energy crisis, but won't be turning its back on coal for power production.

Responding to the State of the Nation debate in Cape Town, the President said the country's invested too much in coal-fired power plants. 

"We need to dispel this idea that we are abandoning coal as a fuel source. We should all remember that coal-fired power stations provide 80 percent of our energy source right now and we, therefore, continue to provide the bulk of our base load supply into the future. 

"Even as international people have asked me, I say we built two mega power stations, Kusile and Madupi that generate some 8000 megawatts at great costs. There is no way we will shut the power stations down."