Power generation units regulated by South Africa’s electricity provider, Eskom, faced a major setback in supplying power to key industrial areas after multiple failures at power stations over the weekend.
According to reports, the outages—linked to inefficiencies at the Majuba and Camden power stations—have resulted in the highest stage of controlled power cuts, with Eskom reducing 3,000 megawatts from the national grid.
Speaking to journalists, Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane assured that efforts are underway to restore as many units as possible. “Of the 10 units that we lost overnight, we have essentially returned six units,” he said.
The stage three power cuts, locally known as ‘load-shedding,’ are expected to be raised to stage four until further notice.
Frequent breakdowns at Eskom’s ageing fleet of coal-fired power plants—responsible for the bulk of electricity supply in Africa’s most industrialized economy—are often cited as the primary cause of load-shedding, reports say.
