Eskom has announced that Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 2 PM on Friday and is expected to last until 5 AM on Monday, 10 March.
The power utility cited a 2,700MW loss over the past 14 hours, impacting the 98% availability of the power supply. This includes Koeberg Unit 2, which was taken offline after being brought back on Wednesday, as well as two Kusile units, which experienced coal operation issues due to adverse weather conditions.
Eskom stated that higher levels of planned maintenance are ongoing to prepare for winter and meet regulatory and environmental licensing requirements. Emergency reserves will also be replenished over the weekend.
Despite this setback, Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, assured the public that South Africa is not returning to the severe load shedding levels of 2023.
"Two years into delivering the generation recovery plan, we remain focused. This is a challenging period, but our highly skilled engineering teams are fully deployed to address the situation," Nxumalo said.
The latest round of power cuts comes after 323 days of uninterrupted electricity supply, with the last load shedding implemented on 20 February 2025. It was suspended six days later following the successful restoration of multiple units at Majuba, Camden, and Medupi power stations.
Minister of Energy and Electricity, Dr. Kgosientsho, apologized for the setback, expressing regret over the situation.