“Eskom regrets to inform the country that it will implement stage 2 load shedding starting at 12:00. This will continue until 22:00. The load shedding has been caused by an increase in plant breakdowns exceeding 3,000 MW (megawatts) of capacity,” said Eskom in a statement on Friday. 

According to South Africa’s largest state-owned enterprise (SOE), although five generation units were removed from the grid as of last night and this morning, a breakdown at the Matimba power station in Limpopo province has resulted in the need for load shedding. 

“Two units at the Arnot power station, as well as a unit each at Kendai, Tutuka and Majuba, were taken off the grid last night and this morning,” added the power utility. 

“These removed more than 3,000MW of capacity from the system. The delayed return to service of a generation unit at the Duvha power station has also added significant pressure to the generation system,” said Eskom.

Eskom urged the public to reduce its electricity usage and explained that the diminished electricity supply could last throughout the entire weekend. 

While the SOE seeks to manage its failing power supply, it is also plagued by controversy after members Parliament's standing committee on appropriations queried an overpayment of R5 billion (about US$295 million) to contractors. 

“We are very aware that we have an obligation to recover monies that were paid incorrectly and unlawfully to various organisations, and we are working closely with the SARS (South African Revenue Service), the Special Investigation Unit, the Hawks, the JSE for those companies that are listed on the stock exchange, and the head of investigations at the office of the NDPP (national director of public prosecutions),” said Eskom CEO André de Ruyter to members of Parliament. 

“We are seeking to recover some R600 million that was unlawfully paid to a company called Trillian, which was in a partnership with McKinsey & Co. We are participating in the business rescue process of Tegeta Exploration & Resources where we have a claim of R5 billion against the business rescue practitioners. We think that based on the available money it will unlikely be that we will realise the full R5 billion and we will probably receive a significantly smaller amount than that,” added De Ruyter.

The Eskom CEO further explained: “At this point, publicly airing any detail of these talks would have a detrimental outcome to Eskom’s interests. Parliament and the public will be updated on these and other matters as and when the talks progress.”

African News Agency