Eskom says stage 6 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm to 10pm tonight due to “unlawful industrial action” by some of its personnel at its power stations.

The power utility said the stages of load shedding for Tuesday and Wednesday will be as follows:

• Stage 6 this evening will be followed by stage 4 load shedding between 10pm and midnight.

• From midnight until 5am on Wednesday morning, Eskom will implement stage two load shedding.

• From 5am on Wednesday, stage 4 will return until 4pm.

• From 4pm, the power utility will once again implement stage six load shedding until 10pm on Wednesday.

“This is due to the unlawful and unprotected labour action, which has caused widespread disruption to Eskom’s power plants. This has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plants from damage.

“Eskom continues 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 the shortages by continuing to reduce the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items,” the power utility said.

Eskom said at least three generation units, which were part of a cohort of 10 which broke down overnight, have been brought back online.

“This, however, is still insufficient to stave off the implementation of Stage six load shedding for this evening and tomorrow evening. We currently have 3 218MW [of power] on planned maintenance, while another 17 621MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.

“We 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 during these uncertain times on the power system,” Eskom said.

Source: South African Government News Agency