Load shedding stages: Here's how it affects you
South Africans are in for a rough ride until at least Sunday due to constant rolling blackouts.
Eskom says there'll be further load shedding until at least the start of next week, but due to unexpected breakdowns at the utility’s various power stations, it's unsure which stages will be implemented.
The powersupplier initiated Stage 3 load shedding for Thursday, which will end at 10pm. At this stage, it says Stage 2 load shedding will kick in after that.
The utility has explained to Newswatch how the power cut stages work.
Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha says areas that are being load shed are affected for two hours or two-and-a-half hours, depending on your local supplier or the municipality you fall under.
READ:Energy expert warns of ‘dire consequences’ if Eskom implements Stage 6 load shedding
"Each stage of load shedding on average needs 1 000 megawatts. That is when Eskom is short of 1 000 megawatts of generation capacity, it has to reduce the available amount by 1 000 megawatts - which means you will be load shed for about two hours in that area and this is less regular.
"Stage 3 and 4 load shedding goes for two hours at a time, but due to the higher amount of electricity that is required, that is the more regular you will get affected in terms of load shedding.
"Stage 4 load shedding is when Eskom needs approximately 4 000 megawatts of capacity to keep the lights on."
