Eskom announces Stage 3 loadshedding

Eskom has announced that Stage 3 loadshedding will take place from 1pm on Wednesday, 10 February.

Loadshedding will last until 6am on 11 February, according to the power utility.

According to Eskom, the need for power cuts results from breakdowns in generation units over the past three days. The state-owned enterprise says that it also needs to replenish emergency generation reserves.

The outlook for the grid’s capacity remains unpredictable, according to Eskom. As a result, the likelihood of rolling blackouts continuing on Thursday is high.

“Eskom requests the public continue using electricity sparingly as the system remains vulnerable and unpredictable, and we will communicate timeously should there be any significant changes to the power system,” the power utility said.

South Africans have experienced on-and-off loadshedding since last week, with recurrent Stage 2 power cuts.

At the time of writing, the City of Cape Town had not announced whether municipality-supplied customers would receive a lower stage.

However, the municipality will likely announce whether it will mitigate power cuts via its Twitter account.

Feature image: Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Read more: Apps and tools to help you keep track of your loadshedding schedule and stages