Eskom is warning there is a high risk of load shedding on Thursday as a result of more unplanned outages and a significant dip in its diesel reserves.
The utility said it had to use more than its average emergency fuel on Wednesday to keep the lights on and reserves had dropped to around 50%.
Eskom said if it would go ahead and turn off the electricity, it would likely be after 9 pm on Thursday.
Spokesperson Dikatso Mothae said a final decision would be made on Thursday afternoon.
“We’re working on getting the generators back online. We will decide if we’re going to load shed or not, depending on that. Later this afternoon, around 5 pm, we’ll know.”