Power utility Eskom has pushed loadshedding to a dreaded stage 5 starting at 4pm on Friday.
It says this is due to a higher demand of power than anticipated.
The state-owned utility said stage 5 will commence on Friday evening, thereafter stage 4 will continue through the weekend.
“Stage 5 load shedding will kick in at 16h00 until midnight, thereafter dropping to stage 4 load shedding for the entirety of Saturday,” said Eskom.
The power company further said, if demand can be managed, loadshedding will be moved to stages 2 and 4 on Sunday.
Eskom warned earlier this week that due to cold weather loadshedding was likely to escalate as demand ticked higher and its reserves depleted heading into the weekend.
This escalation comes after Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa previously apologized for pushing loadshedding to stage 6, saying anything above stage 4 is unacceptable.
“I really want to express our most sincere and profuse apology for having taken South Africans through a very difficult of intensive load shedding… load shedding is unacceptable. Going through higher stages of load shedding, especially stage 6 should not become a norm,” he said at the time.
Loadshedding will be scheduled as follows:
Friday, 21 July
- Stage 5: 16h00 to 00h00
Saturday, 22 July
- Stage 4: 00h00 to 00h00
Sunday, 23 July
- Stage 4: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 2: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00
Follow @SundayWorldZA on Twitter and @sundayworldza on Instagram, or like our Facebook Page, Sunday World, by clicking here for the latest breaking news in South Africa.
