Eskom has implemented stage-6 load shedding as the problems at the failed state-owned utility keep mounting.
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After earlier on Monday saying it expects to implement stage-2 rotational power cuts until 11pm, Eskom has now doubled the amount of electricity it will remove from supply.
South Africa’s struggling power utility warned rolling blackouts may continue throughout the week as electricity cuts entered a fifth day, further weighing on the nation’s struggling economy.
Eskom said on Friday that it will escalate rotational power cuts to stage 4 from 2pm on Friday as it battles breakdowns at its generation plants and wet coal due to continued rains.
Eskom said on Friday that persistent rain on the Highveld in recent days – which is not predicted to stop until the middle of next week – has contributed to the latest load shedding crisis.
Eskom, South Africa’s biggest polluter, is struggling to curb its highest particulate emissions in two decades after its Kendal power plant was damaged during a strike.
The financial woes dogging South Africa’s behemoth state power utility show little sign of letting up even as the government grants it massive bailouts.
President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated that government’s attempts to reconfigure and split Eskom into three divisions is not aimed at privatising the embattled power utility.
Eskom said on Monday that it will switch off power in Bloemfontein and other towns in the Free State between 6am and 8pm daily until outstanding municipal arrears are settled.
Electricity generated from coal-fired plants is set to fall by a record 3% this year, raising chances for slowing global carbon dioxide emissions growth, according to a report released by Carbon Brief.