JOHANNESBURG – South African households and businesses experienced scheduled power cuts on Friday, ending a 10-month stretch of stable electricity supply. State power utility Eskom confirmed that breakdowns at coal-fired power stations led to the outages, disrupting the country’s energy supply.
Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said Eskom had exhausted its reserves and would implement Stage 3 load shedding, cutting up to 3,000 megawatts from the national grid. Eskom executives reported that six units at Lethabo and Matimba power stations, two of its most reliable facilities, had gone offline, reducing capacity by about 3,600 MW.
The power cuts started at 5 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Friday and will continue until at least midnight on Sunday. Ramokgopa described the breakdowns as unfortunate, coinciding with scheduled maintenance at other units.
South Africa has struggled with rolling blackouts for over a decade, stalling economic growth. However, since March 2023, Eskom had maintained a steady supply following improvements in generation performance. The utility, which has faced financial and operational issues, recently stated it was on track to post its first annual profit in eight years, aided by improved output and a government debt relief plan.
Eskom’s financial challenges persist. On Thursday, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) approved a 12.7% tariff increase for the financial year starting in April, significantly less than Eskom had requested. The lower increase limits Eskom’s ability to cover coal contracts, rising carbon tax costs, and municipal debt.
