Eskom is offering workers a 7% wage increase after the utility lost units during illegal protests that plunged South Africa into the worst blackouts since 2019, sources said.
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Eskom and trade unions cited progress in talks to end a strike that has caused South Africa’s worst power cuts in more than two years.
Eskom has announced that for only the second time in history, the country will be subjected to stage-6 load shedding.
Eskom has warned that there is a “very real risk” of stage-6 load shedding during the evening peak on Tuesday as an illegal strike at Eskom intensifies and turns violent.
Eskom said most of its workforce is in place following unlawful industrial action, though generation capacity has yet to improve.
Unlawful industrial action at Eskom’s power stations means South Africans will have to continue to endure stage-4 load shedding until at least Wednesday night.
Eskom will implement severe load shedding from 11am on Friday to conserve its emergency reserves as some of its workers, striking illegally, blockade its power stations.
Eskom has warned that illegal strike action by employees could make load shedding worse in the coming days.
Tensions are rising at Eskom, with the struggling state-owned electricity supplier confirming protests at several power plants following a breakdown in wage negotiations.
A powerful cold front, which has caused temperatures to plummet across South Africa, has forced Eskom to escalate load shedding to include daytime cuts.