State energy utility Eskom has confirmed that Stage 2 load shedding will likely be applied from 4pm to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday.

Eskom had warned on Tuesday afternoon that load shedding could also be prolonged attributable to losses in technology capability at a few of its energy stations on Tuesday night.

By Wednesday afternoon, the facility utility was battling breakdowns amounting to some 14 637MW of power, whereas deliberate upkeep outages stood at 4 550MW.

“The breakdown of a technology unit every at Duvha, Kendal and Kriel energy stations over the past 24 hours, in addition to delays in returning models to service at Arnot, Kusile and Tutuka energy stations, have put a extreme pressure on the facility technology system,” Eskom mentioned.

On the similar time, the facility utility mentioned though it has returned different models to service, load shedding might nonetheless not be prevented.

“Throughout the identical interval, Eskom groups have returned a unit every at Arnot and Tutuka energy stations to service. Whereas a technology unit every at Kriel, Majuba and Tutuka energy stations are anticipated to return to service over the following 24 hours, this can nonetheless be inadequate to stave off load shedding for Thursday afternoon,” Eskom mentioned.

South Africans have been urged to proceed utilizing electrical energy sparingly at the moment.