Breaking: Eskom crank load shedding up to Stage 2 for rest of Thursday

A month to the day since the lights last went out in South Africa, Eskom has rocked up with another schedule of load shedding for us all. After confirming SA would be constrained by Stage 1, they adjusted their forecast on Thursday afternoon, plunging the country into Stage 2 cuts.

“Eskom will implement up to Stage 2 load shedding from 15:00 today as a result of the shortage of capacity. This is expected to continue up until 23:00.”

Eskom statement
To say it’s been coming would be an understatement. Barring the weekend, the power utility has issued daily warnings about the potential for blackouts since last Tuesday. Just 24 hours ago, the company warned that there would be a high-risk of load shedding “over the next few days”.

Load shedding for Thursday 14 March – who will be affected?

The grid went down at 11:00, with Stage 1 initially announced by the power provider. But just after 14:30, Eskom confirmed that Stage 2 would be implemented between 15:00 – 23:00.

There’s no indication yet of how many days this particular phase will last, or if things will get worse than the current stage. They have blamed “insufficient generating capacity” for Thursday’s mark-up

Eskom were initially tight-lipped on what caused Thursday’s blackouts, but the grid has been constrained for a while now. Generational shortages and the struggle to replenish water and diesel supplies have had Eskom on the back foot for most of 2019.

Important considerations during #loadshedding. Remember to switch off your appliances during loadshedding and power outages to avoid it being damaged during a power surge. @YouthInEnergy @Loadshedding_SA @loadshedbuddy @MyApluus pic.twitter.com/Jc5tmy6xRM
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 14, 2019

Eskom explain their reasons

Khulu Phasiwe is a spokesperson for the company. It was his unenviable task to break the news to public, where he confirmed that further “plant breakdowns” and an “imbalance of supply and demand” will plunge large parts SA into darkness for the rest of the day:

“Eskom will implement load shedding from 11:00 this morning until 23:00 tonight. This is due to plant breakdowns, resulting in an imbalance between supply and demand. Please visit the websites of your electricity providers for a list of which areas will be affected.”

Khulu Phasiwe