Eskom said on Thursday morning that stage 2 load-shedding was in effect and would continue on Friday, owing to a shortage of capacity and higher demand for electricity.

The power utility said there was an increased possibility of load-shedding over the next 18 months as Eskom was conducting critical maintenance to restore its ageing plant.

“Customers are also advised that any additional shifts on the system may require a change in the load-shedding stage.

“As we continue to replenish the emergency reserves at our pumped storage schemes and open-cycle gas turbines, we will continue to explore the pilot programme of providing load-shedding respite during the morning and evening traffic rush hours  in the week,” Eskom said.

However, the power utility said this was not possible on Thursday owing to the available generating capacity and the need to replenish emergency reserves.

“Unplanned outages or breakdowns were at 11,567MW as at 6am this morning. Critical maintenance is being done on units that are currently on planned outages, as well as some of those on unplanned outages, to ensure timeous return to service.”