Stage two loadshedding is expected to continue until Thursday as Eskom attempts to replenish its electricity reserves.

On Friday, the power utility announced the extension of loadshedding after losing several of its units to breakdowns at Tutuka power station. Eskom is experiencing a depletion of emergency generation reserves due to breakdowns at Komati and Hendrina power stations.

“Whilst still recovering four units at Tutuka, which had experienced conveyor belt failures, the fleet suffered a cluster of boiler tube leaks within a short period of time. The return of a generating unit at Majuba power station…provided some relief. However, this was insufficient to curb the extensive use of emergency reserves,” the power utility said.

Eskom said the loadshedding will also “address other additional risks in the generation fleet”.

“During this time, Eskom will be working hard to return a number of generating units to service and we urge the public to continue using electricity sparingly. Total breakdowns amount to 14 760MW, while planned maintenance is 5 277MW of capacity.”

Source: South African Government News Agency