Load-shedding will be increased to stage 4 from 1pm until 10pm on Saturday.

The power utility announced that some of the units had tripped due to higher demand than anticipated.

Eskom will implement stage 4 load-shedding again on Sunday from 8am until 10pm.

The utility’s spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, said developments on load-shedding would be sent as they happen.

On Friday, Eskom, initially announced that the implementation of stage 2 load-shedding would be extended to Saturday and Sunday from 8am until 10pm to to preserve the current diesel stock and contain power cuts from being upgraded to higher stages.

The utility announced that while a single unit at the Duvha Power Station tripped on Friday , a generating unit each at Tutuka and Medupi power stations had returned to service.

“Three generation units are expected to service tomorrow [today]. This, however, will not be sufficient to meet the higher demand during the cold front over the weekend. We currently have 3,405MW on planned maintenance, while another 15,481MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.”

The power utility appealed 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.

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