Eskom will resume stage-2 load shedding from 8am on Friday morning to 10pm tonight.
On Thursday, the power utility implemented Stage-2 rotational load shedding due to an increase in generation unit breakdowns overnight.
Stage 2 loadshedding to continue until 22:00, and resume at 08:00 tomorrow pic.twitter.com/xi39ql4K9F
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) August 13, 2020
The power utility says it has restored four units to the power grid but this is not sufficient to meet demand.
Technicians are working to restore the remainder of generation units back into service.
Eskom says the power grid remains constrained and power outages could continue through the weekend.
Eskom’s woes compounded by illegal connections
In July load shedding had been suspended, but there were parts of South Africa where residents remained in the dark amidst the cold weather and COVID-19 fears.
A resident of Chiawelo in Soweto told SABC News they have been without power for a month. In a bid to crackdown on thousands of illegal connections, Eskom has implemented daily cuts in certain areas at peak times in the morning and in the afternoons. It calls this load reduction as opposed to load shedding.
In the video below Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha elaborates on the problem of illegal connections.