South Africa is grappling with its most significant nationwide power outage in months, as Eskom, the state-owned electricity company, announced it would implement what is known as Stage 6 load shedding – removing 6,000 megawatts of demand from the grid – starting from midnight Saturday until further notice.
According to a Bloomberg news agency report, Eskom stated in an announcement published on the “X” platform that the increased outages come even after the company brought two generating units back online in the past 24 hours, while two other units went offline.
The statement explained that this coincides with the need to replenish pumped storage reservoirs in preparation for the coming week, necessitating the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding from midnight until further notice.
Eskom, which supplies about 95% of South Africa’s electricity, has struggled with capacity constraints for years, leading to frequent and prolonged power outages across the nation.
These challenges are compounded by the utility’s financial difficulties, including significant debt levels, and allegations of corruption and mismanagement.
The impact of such extensive load shedding on Africa’s most industrialized economy is profound, affecting everything from small businesses to major industries and residential areas.
