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Eskom announces Stage 2 loadshedding, warns of power constraints
Eskom has announced it will implement Stage 2 loadshedding on 2 November, the day after the 2021 local government elections.
Loadshedding will commence at 4pm and end at 5am the next day.
However, Eskom also announced power constraints are expected to continue for the rest of the week.
Eskom hits SA with loadshedding for second week in a row
The latest round of loadshedding comes less than a week after Eskom implemented Stage 4 due to multiple tripped power units.
It had initially implemented Stage 2 for the duration of the week.
According to a press release published on Twitter, the latest outage is due to a shortage of generation capacity.
The power utility said a unit at Kusile power station had tripped.
At the same time, units at Matimba and Arnot power stations had failed to return to service as previously expected.
The total breakdowns currently amount to 17 933MW of power while planned maintenance is 3 451MW of capacity.
Regretfully, Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00 tomorrow as power constraints persist@News24 @Newzroom405 @SABCNews @eNCA @SundayTimesZA @SowetanLIVE pic.twitter.com/h4y5X3fdps
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 2, 2021
“These constraints are expected to persist for the rest of the week, which may require the loadshedding to be extended,” Eskom explained.
“We are currently utilising generation reserves extensively to supplement supply.”
“We would like again to apologise for the inconvenience caused to the people of South Africa by the loadshedding.”
Soon after the announcement, the City of Cape Town said it would implement Stage 1 and Stage 2 loadshedding for City-supplied customers.
According to a tweet from the city, it would implement Stage 1 from 6pm to 10pm and then Stage 2 from 10pm to 5am on 3 November:
Following Eskom’s announcement that load-shedding (Eskom Stage 2) will resume from 16:00 today until 05:00 tomorrow morning, 3 November, here’s what City customers can expect:
2 November
Stage 1 from 18:00 until 22:00
Stage 2 from 22:00 until 05:00, 3 November #CTInfo pic.twitter.com/D7cyFwxAc6— City of Cape Town (@CityofCT) November 2, 2021
“The City will continue to protect customers as far as possible and will provide further updates if required,” it said in a follow-up tweet.
Read more: Health Department approves COVID-19 vaccine rollout for children aged 12 to 17
Featured image: Unsplash/Jeremy Perkins
