Eskom will implement Stage 2 power cuts from 4pm until midnight on Wednesday and again on Thursday in the same time slot.
The power utility says there's a shortage of generation capacity and unplanned outages at some power stations.
Eskom suspended rolling power cuts 10 days ago, following five weeks of intense cuts that reached levels as high as Stage 6.
South Africans have not experienced load-shedding for over two weeks, which has been a relief, especially for business owners who were severely affected by constant power cuts in June and July. However, energy analysts and experts say it will take some time for South Africa to completely end blackouts.
In a statement, Eskom said a delay in the return of a generation unit at Arnot, Koeberg and Kusile power stations as well as an unplanned outage of a unit each at Camden and Medupi and two units each at the Grootvlei, Hendrina and Majuba power stations had exacerbated its capacity constraints.
Due to the shortage of generation capacity, Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented at 16:00 – 24:00 this afternoon and tomorrow pic.twitter.com/MrW4XgXYLy
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) August 3, 2022
“The delay in returning a generation unit to service each at Arnot, Koeberg and the Kusile power stations, as well as the unplanned outage of a generation unit each at Camden, Medupi and two units each at Grootvlei, Hendrina and Majuba power stations, have exacerbated the capacity constraints,” it said.
Eskom said some generation units are anticipated to return to service over the next few days.
“We have 2,931MW on planned maintenance, while another 15,051MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.
“Eskom reminds the public that load-shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid. We urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially during these uncertain times on the power system.”
