Eskom activates Stage 4 load shedding, blackouts 'will persist throughout the weekend'

Eskom activates Stage 4 load shedding, blackouts 'will persist throughout the weekend'

Eskom says it will implement Stage 4 load shedding from 3pm on Wednesday.

Woman sitting in darkness with candles
Woman sitting in darkness /iStock

It's scheduled to last until 10 this evening.

Eskom says demand at the moment is exceptionally high because of the colder weather.

It says the blackouts will continue for the rest of the week and into the weekend, but the stages might differ.

"Load shedding will persist throughout the weekend as Eskom teams work around the clock to return as many of these generation units to service as possible. 

"Eskom will continue to communicate the stage of load shedding should there be any further developments," it said in a statement. 

The power utility has been implementing rolling blackouts since Tuesday due to multiple generation unit breakdowns.

It says four units have now come back - but the system remains constrained.

Click here to see KwaZulu-Natal's load shedding schedules. 

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