Embattled power utility Eskom has sent out a statement warning the public that rolling blackouts could worsen – and late on Wednesday has moved to Stage 4 loadshedding. This comes as it struggles to deal with debt amounting R488bn. According to Eye Witness News, the state-owned enterprise has released its pre-audited results for 2019/20 and ended the financial year with R23bn. It experienced further losses of R48bn and added that loadshedding would continue for at least 18 months as it completes a maintenance schedule. – Bernice Maune.Â
South Africa power cuts may get worse
Bloomberg – Eskom said it’s cutting 2,000 megawatts from the grid between 8 am and 10 pm (on September 2), continuing with rolling blackouts that are adding to the woes facing Africa’s most-industrialized economy.
Eskom, which is saddled with R450bn of debt, blamed failures in 10 generation units at seven power stations for the disruptions, known locally as load shedding.
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“There is a high probability that additional stages of load shedding may be implemented at short notice,” the utility said.
#PowerAlert 2
Eskom to continue implementing Stage 2 #Loadshedding from 08:00 until 22:00 tomorrow as power system is still severely constrained pic.twitter.com/JfuYcWxAyD— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) September 1, 2020
