Johannesburg – Eskom will implement stage 3 load shedding from 2 pm Friday until 5 am Monday, March 10, following unexpected losses in power generation capacity.

The power utility reported losing 2700MW over the past 14 hours despite achieving 98% availability of power supply. This includes Koeberg Unit 2, which went offline shortly after being reconnected on Wednesday, and two Kusile units experiencing coal operation issues due to adverse weather.

“Two years into delivering the generation recovery plan, that will bring an end to load shedding, we are at a challenging time and the full force of our highly skilled engineering resources are deployed and focused,” said Eskom Group Executive Generation Bheki Nxumalo.

Eskom emphasized that South Africa is not returning to the severe load shedding experienced in 2023. The current interruptions are partly due to higher levels of planned maintenance aimed at winter preparation and meeting regulatory requirements.

The weekend outages will also serve to replenish emergency reserves, according to Eskom’s statement.

This marks the second load shedding implementation this year, following a brief period in February that ended South Africa’s 323-day streak without power cuts. The previous interruption lasted six days before power was fully restored.

Minister of Energy and Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho, issued an apology for the disruption, stating that the setback is regretted.

Businesses and residents are advised to check local schedules and prepare for the planned power interruptions throughout the weekend.