Eskom blames cold weather as it announces Stage 4 loadshedding for Thursday

Published Sep 2, 2020

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Johannesburg - Eskom has announced more Stage 4 loadshedding for Thursday, blaming the cold weather being experienced around the country and persistent generation constraints.

South Africans were welcomed into September with the news of Stage 2 loadshedding on Tuesday morning.

On Wednesday, there was more loadshedding and after 3pm, this was stepped up two notches, to Stage 4 loadshedding.

In a statement on Wednesday, the power utility said Stage 4 loadshedding on Thursday would commence from 8am until 10pm.

“Eskom would like to confirm that due to the continuing severe generation supplies constraints caused by multiple unit breakdowns as well as the additional demand as a result of the cold weather, Stage 4 loadshedding will resume at 8am until 10pm on Thursday.

“Loadshedding will persist throughout the week as Eskom teams work around the clock to return as many of these generation units to service as possible,” read the statement from the power utility.

Residents at the City of Johannesburg were left hampered, experiencing upto an additional hour of loadshedding after it was upgraded to Stage 4.

Areas such as Randburg, Bryanston and Fourways, had their loadshedding prolonged for over an hour.

The reasons for the delayed return of power were not disclosed, but some residents in the Bryanston area were again left further frustrated, when their area suffered a power outage about an hour after power was restored.

Anger and Frustration

Meanwhile, Eskom said it would continue to communicate the stages of loadshedding should there be any further developments.

“The loadshedding is necessary in order to conserve and replenish emergency reserves while also maintaining the stability of the power system.

“Eskom urges the people of South Africa to help reduce electricity usage in order to ease the pressure on the system,” the power utility said.

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