State power utility Eskom has announced a further week of stage two load shedding following the continued shortage of generation capacity at its power stations.

The electricity supplier has been battling breakdowns and the slow return to service of some of its generation units for the past two weeks leading to load shedding from about 5pm to 10pm daily.

“While there may be instances where load shedding might need to be implemented outside of these hours, as far as possible, Eskom will endeavour to limit the implementation of load shedding to the evening peak in order to limit the impact of the capacity shortages on the public,” Eskom said in a statement.

On Sunday, the power utility said it has at least 18 000MW of capacity unavailable due to planned and unplanned outages.

“Eskom will continue to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary. We appeal to all South Africans to help limit the impact of load shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items,” the statement read.

The electricity supplier urged consumers to continue to use electricity sparingly as it continues to battle power station breakdowns.

“Eskom would like to remind the public that load shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid. We therefore urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly especially between 5am to 9am in the mornings and 4pm to 10pm in the evenings,” Eskom said.

Source: South African Government News Agency