South African power utility Eskom has announced that Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented during the evening peak periods, from 4 pm to midnight, until further notice.
The power utility initially reduced load shedding to Stage 3 on Tuesday afternoon following a significant improvement in its power plant generation capacity.
"Due to further improvement in available generation capacity, Stage 3 will be implemented during the evening peak periods from 16:00 today until midnight. Load shedding will be suspended from midnight until 16:00 tomorrow (Wednesday)," Eskom said in a statement.
Breakdowns currently account for 16 056 MW of generating capacity, while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 2 407 MW.
"Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit at Kriel and Majuba power stations was returned to service. In the same period, generation units at Duvha, Hendrina, Kendal, Lethabo, and Matla power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns," Eskom said.
"Further delays in returning generating units to service at Arnot, Camden, and Hendrina power stations are contributing to the current capacity constraints," it added.
Eskom stated that its teams are working around the clock to return these units to service over the next few days.
"This pattern, where load shedding is suspended from midnight until 16:00, and Stage 3 load shedding is implemented from 16:00 until midnight, will be repeated daily until further notice," the utility said.
Eskom said it would publish further updates as any significant changes occur.
