Umamah Bakharia 

Eskom has announced the implementation of Stage 4 load-shedding after a ‘sudden’ outage at three of its Kendal power stations.

“A sudden tripping of three Kendal Power Station units (1 920MW maximum generating capacity) has forced the implementation of Stage 4 loadshedding starting at 10:00 this morning. This will last until 05:00 on Thursday morning,” says Eskom Spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha.

Briefing the media yesterday, Eskom reiterated calls for the urgent need for energy supply across the grid.

While Company Chief Operations Officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer added that the current rolling blackouts are necessary due to multi-generation unit breakdowns at various power stations.

Eskom has reported multiple grid power failures that have left the country in darkness for weeks. Currently, the power utility says loadshedding will be implemented from Tuesday at 10 am to Thursday at 5 am.