Eskom is escalating load shedding to stage 4 on Wednesday, meaning it is cutting 4GW of supply from the grid, as it struggles with plant breakdowns.
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Eskom has plunged South Africa back into stage-2 load shedding, with the rolling national blackouts set to continue until Sunday night.
Rolling power cuts are likely to continue all week as Eskom struggles to bring generating units back online, the state-owned power utility said on Monday.
Eskom said it will suspend load shedding for five hours on Friday afternoon to allow MPs to attend a virtual sitting of parliament. As a result, power cuts will continue all weekend.
While implementing countrywide blackouts this week, energy regulator Nersa has published for comment Eskom’s latest submission for additional revenue to be recovered from electricity tariffs.
South Africa is seeking additional electricity from private contractors as government moves to address longstanding power outages.
South Africa said a legal challenge to its award of a power supply contract worth an estimated R218-billion by DNG Energy was “without merit” and “self-serving”.
Eskom has triggered a dispute process with unions over pay, leaving a government-affiliated mediator to try to forge an agreement and avert potential disruption to power supplies.
Stage-2 load shedding will return on Tuesday, Eskom said. The power cuts will start at 4pm and continue through the night, with a possibility that they’ll continue for the rest of the week.
Replacing South Africa’s ageing electricity generation capacity with renewable plants is an opportunity to spur economic growth, the head of a presidential climate change commission said.