Load-shedding is back: Rotational power cuts all weekend, Eskom says

Power utility Eskom said on Friday night that stage 2 load-shedding would be implemented from 6am to 11pm on Saturday.

The rotational power cuts would continue on Sunday, though the stage has not yet been confirmed — with the “system severely constrained”.

“Eskom needs to implement this load-shedding in order to replenish the depleted emergency reserves for the coming week,” the statement reads.

The reason for the load-shedding, Eskom said, was due to “unforeseen breakdowns” from ageing unreliable plants.

“In addition to this, Eskom has taken two generation units at the Kendal power station offline in compliance with environmental legislation. Similarly, four generation units at the Camden power station have been taken offline to conserve the integrity of the ash dam facility,” the statement read.

Eskom said that 7,452MW of power had been lost to planned maintenance, while another 10,208MW of capacity was unavailable due to “unplanned maintenance”.

“Eskom teams are working around the clock to return as many of these units to service as soon as possible,” the statement read.

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