After days of uncertainty, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has officially confirmed that Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented starting Friday at 5 PM and will continue through the weekend. While the announcement aims to protect the stability of the power grid, concerns are growing that Stage 4 could still be on the horizon.
“We’ve come to a place where Load shedding is an extraordinary occurrence – at least we can agree on that – and we really want to put it behind us.” – Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
The decision follows a string of unexpected breakdowns over the past week, which have severely depleted emergency reserves at Eskom. Speaking at a media briefing on Friday afternoon, Eskom’s Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane, emphasised that this is a temporary setback, but admitted that more severe power cuts may be necessary.
“This is a potentially temporary setback. Load shedding is largely behind us due to the structural improvements in our generation fleet. However, over the past seven days, we have experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times. This has necessitated the use of all our emergency reserves, which now need to be replenished,” – Marokane said.
How did we get gere? A look at Eskom’s struggle
South Africans had been enjoying over 10 months of uninterrupted electricity, thanks to the Generation Recovery Plan implemented in 2023. The plan focused on:
- Strengthening Eskom’s generation fleet
- Enhanced maintenance programs
- Emergency reserve management
- Integrating independent power producers into the grid
By January 2025, Eskom marked 300 days without load shedding, a milestone last seen before 2018. However, recent technical failures have threatened that progress.
“We have been working hard to ensure energy security, but unexpected failures in critical generating units have forced us to deplete emergency reserves faster than anticipated.” – Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokoena
While Eskom has not disclosed specific stations affected, reports suggest that two major coal-fired plants and a unit at Medupi Power Station are currently offline.
What stage 3 load shedding means for South Africans
With Stage 3 in effect, households and businesses will face:
- Power cuts lasting up to four hours at a time
- Multiple outages per day
- Disruptions to businesses and industries
- Increased reliance on backup power solutions
If breakdowns continue, Stage 4 remains a real possibility, which would mean even longer outages and deeper disruptions to South Africa’s economy.
Eskom races against time to restore stability
Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation, reassured the public that repairs are already underway.
“Repairs on the units that have gone down have started, and they will continue throughout the weekend.” — Nxumalo
However, South Africans remain on edge, fearing that this weekend’s load shedding could be the start of a longer, more disruptive energy crisis.
*For the latest updates on South Africa’s power supply, stay tuned to NOWinSA – South African Brand News and Inspiring Stories.
