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 — and possibly longer.

Striking workers, who have blocked access to some of the state-owned utility’s coal-fired power stations, have interfered with planned maintenance and repairs, Eskom said in a statement on Sunday. At some stations, the full complement of workers has also not reported for duty amid an ongoing deadlock in wages talks.

“Unplanned generation losses have not been reduced as planned, which has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plant from damage,” Eskom said.

As a direct result of this industrial action, load shedding will continue at stage 4 daily from 5am to midnight until at least midnight on Wednesday.

“Eskom appeals to its labour partners and striking employees to put the people of South Africa first, respect the law and to desist from unlawful and undemocratic conduct. The labour dispute resolution process must be allowed to run its course without illegal acts of intimidation and damage to property,” the utility said. “Eskom will consider all legal options at its disposal for damage caused or incited by union representatives.”

It added: “There is a possibility that the stage of load shedding may have to change at short notice, depending on the state of the plant and the availability of labour.”

‘At risk’

“Currently, approximately 4GW of generation capacity is at risk due to the illegal strike action. It is therefore necessary to replenish emergency generation reserves to be able to react to unforeseen circumstances…

“Protracted strike actions may lead to further damage and prolonged delays to returning units to service, which would compound an already constrained power system.”