News24
18 Oct 2019, 23:44 GMT+10
Stage 1 load shedding will be implemented on Saturday as the power system remains "volatile", Eskom's spokesperson Dikatso Mothae has confirmed.
Mothae provided an update on the power system to Fin24 via WhatsApp on Friday.
"We will load shed at stage 1 tomorrow," she said.
The load shedding status for Sunday will only be confirmed on Saturday. "[The] system is still volatile," Mothae added.
Crucially, South African rugby enthusiasts are hoping for power on Sunday, when South Africa takes on Japan in the Rugby World Cup quarter-final just after midday.
The latest developments are in contrast to what acting CEO Jabu Mabuza told media at a briefing on Thursday evening - Eskom had not expected load shedding for the weekend. Furthermore, Mabuza said only stage 1 load shedding would be implemented on Friday.
Find your load shedding schedule here
But early on Friday morning, Eskom issued a notice that load shedding would be escalated to stage 2, after additional capacity was lost at Medupi power station in Lephalale, Limpopo, Fin24 previously reported.
"Late last night, we lost Medupi 3, 4 and 5 due to coal and ash handling issues," Eskom said in its statement.
How Medupi and Kusile are sinking South Africa
On Friday afternoon, however, Mothae said that unit 4 had come back online.
The power utility reintroduced load shedding on Wednesday this week due to a shortage of capacity following the failure of a conveyor belt, used to carry 4 000 tons of coal, from Exxaro's Grootgeluk Coal Mine to Medupi. Mabuza has said the conveyor belt is expected to be repaired by next Wednesday.
Get a daily dose of St Louis Star news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to St Louis Star.
More InformationVENICE, Italy: Over the weekend, hundreds of protesters marched through the narrow streets of Venice to voice their opposition to billionaire...
PARIS, France: France is taking stronger steps to reduce smoking. A new health rule announced on Saturday will soon ban smoking in...
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday claimed Elon Musk's success has been built on government subsidies. Without...
EVERGLADES, Florida: Over the weekend, a diverse coalition of environmental activists, Native American leaders, and residents gathered...
BEIJING, China: China's national soccer team may struggle to stir excitement, but its humanoid robots are drawing cheers — and not...
]LONDON, U.K.: A World Health Organization (WHO) expert group investigating the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic released its final...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks diverged on Wednesday for the second day in a row. The Standard and Poor's 500 hit a new all-time...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: The U.S. dollar continues to lose ground, weighed down by growing concerns over Washington's fiscal outlook...
KABUL, Afghanistan: Afghanistan, long associated with war and instability, is quietly trying to rebrand itself as a destination for...
SANTA CLARA, California: Executives at Nvidia have quietly been cashing in on the AI frenzy. According to a report by the Financial...
NEW YORK, New York - Global stock indices closed with divergent performances on Tuesday, as investors weighed corporate earnings, central...
TORONTO, Canada: Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced late on June 29 that trade negotiations with the U.S. have recommenced...