Eskom said that stage 6 load shedding was here to stay, for now.
The power utility ramped up the power cuts to stage 6 on Wednesday afternoon, saying that it would last until 5AM on Thursday morning before being reduced to stage 5.
However, in a statement released late on Wednesday night, Eskom said that it experienced a breakdown of a generation unit at its Medupi power station, forcing it to change the initial plan.
The national power system has been under severe pressure lately, with Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa warning South Africans to brace themselves for a difficult winter season.
Ramokgopa said that Eskom’s ability to provide a consistent supply of electricity had been undermined by the unpredictability of the fragile grid, as well as an increase in demand.
He added, that together with Eskom, they were doing everything they possibly could to avoid surpassing stage 6 load shedding, a situation he called “the worst case scenario.”
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