Eskom extends load shedding throughout weekend

Blackouts were initially scheduled for 5 hours on both day but the power utility has been dealt another blow with depleting diesel stocks. 

Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha says residents and businesses will now see 14 hours of load shedding a day over the weekend. 

“To preserve the emergency generation reserves, the implementation of Stage 2 load shedding will now start at 08:00 until 22:00 both on Saturday and Sunday. 

“This is done to preserve the current diesel stocks and an attempt to contain the amount of load shedding. Eskom will continue to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary,” Mantshantsha adds. 

According to the embattled utility, if load shedding is not ramped up diesel stocks could be depleted by early next week.  

“While a single unit at the Duvha Power Station tripped this afternoon, a generating unit each at Tutuka and Medupi power stations have been returned to service. Three generation units are expected to service tomorrow (Saturday). This, however, will not be sufficient to meet the higher demand during the cold front over the weekend. 

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“Eskom is expecting a ship containing diesel supplies to berth on Monday, and to offload its cargo through Tuesday. If the current burn rate persists, diesel would be depleted ahead of the ship offloading.”

The currently currently has 3 405MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 481MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.  

The prolonged power cuts come amid warnings of inclement weather over the weekend.