Eskom has warned that it cannot guarantee a secure power supply as workers stage protests at several of the utility’s power stations and regional offices in different parts of the country.

Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe is attending an urgent meeting after updating the situation around the protests by NUM and Numsa in a series of tweets.

He says workers are demonstrating and barricading roads around various Eskom premises, including power stations. Phasiwe says intimidation of workers not joining the protest is rife.

Workers are protesting as Eskom’s refusal to grant them a pay increase this year.

Buses carrying thousands of protesting workers from various power stations around the country have started arriving at Eskom’s head office at Megawatt Park in the north of Johannesburg.

Eskom says the power stations have been left unmanned, meaning they are operating at lower capacity. Workers are protesting as Eskom’s refusal to grant them a pay increase this year.