Power utility Eskom has issued a Stage 4 load shedding alert, warning of a high risk of electricity outages over the weekend. This comes after more than 10 months of uninterrupted power supply.
In a statement, Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane described the situation as a “potentially temporary setback” but reassured the public that the country’s power generation system remains stable.
“Load shedding is largely behind us due to the structural improvements in our generation fleet. However, over the past seven days, we have experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times,” said Marokane.
He explained that these unexpected failures have forced Eskom to deplete its emergency reserves, which now need to be replenished.
“Consequently, we are closely monitoring the status of our current emergency reserves, and load shedding up to Stage 4 may be implemented over the weekend,” he added.
Eskom said it will issue further updates as the situation develops.