Energy crisis in South Africa as Eskom increases load-shedding to stage 5

South Africans are in for another round of power outages as Eskom has announced an increase in load-shedding to stage 3 from 17:00 on Monday until 16:00 on Tuesday. The power cuts will then escalate to stage 5, which will persist until 05:00 on Wednesday.

The move is due to 7,215MW of generation capacity that is offline for planned maintenance, and 14,930MW that are currently unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom said delays in returning units to the grid will continue from the Staffordshire-based Camden plant, as well as its Lethabo, Kriel, Medupi, and Tutuka power stations.

It warned that an expected increase in demand post-Easter weekend will put more strain on the grid and could lead to load-shedding increases at short notice. Eskom has promised to publish an update as soon as there are any significant changes to the situation.

South Africans have been grappling with power outages since 2008, when Eskom first announced rotational power shedding after a rapid rise in electricity demand.

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