Eskom is feeling the wrath of South Africans after it announced it would be implementing stage 6 load-shedding from 6pm on Monday.
The power utility said it was because of a technical problem at Medupi Power Station “impacting additional generation supply”.
On Eskom’s Facebook page, it said the move was “no cause for alarm”.
“We remind and assure customers that load-shedding at stage 6 is no cause for alarm as the system is being effectively controlled. Stage 6 requires 6,000MW to be rotationally loadshed. Load-shedding is a responsible act and highly controlled process, implemented to protect the country from a national blackout.”
The load-shedding schedule on Eskom’s website only goes up to stage 4 but in its statement it said in 2015 the need arose for stage 8 load-shedding.
“After 2015, Eskom and the municipalities identified the need to extend the load-shedding stages up to stage 8 and the national code (NRS048-9 Ed 2) was subsequently updated.”