Eskom suddenly implemented load shedding on Wednesday evening, announcing on X just before 19h00 that five generation units were lost just before the peak period.

Load shedding at Stage 2 was already implemented at 18h25. This will remain in effect until 05h00 on Thursday morning.

The power utility says while it has made ‘notable progress’ in its generation recovery efforts, the loss of five units has come as a setback.

Eskom added it would continue to prioritise planned maintenance to strengthen system reliability ahead of the winter months while ensuring adherence to environmental and licensing conditions.

“In light of the ongoing system constraints, we urge the public to use electricity sparingly.”

Eskom has apologised for the inconvenience (but not the late notice) and will continue to provide updates as required.

The sudden implementation comes just minutes after Eskom issued a statement in which it welcomed the 11 March decision by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA) to approve the Financial Year 2026 Eskom tariffs adjusted with the 2025/26 tariff increase and changes to the tariff structures.

The tariffs for Eskom direct customers will increase by 12.74% effective on 1 April 2025 and tariffs for municipal bulk purchases will increase by 11.32% effective on 1 July 2025.

Eskom Group Executive for Distribution Monde Bala says the NERSA approval enables Eskom to implement simpler tariffs for low-consumption households and municipal bulk purchases.

“Our residential customers will no longer have to pay a higher price for consumption above 350kWh and instead will pay the same cent per kilowatt-hour (c/kWh) for all their consumption. We encourage Eskom residential customers to purchase legal electricity tokens and for those in a need of increased affordability to register for Free Basic Electricity (FBE) and enjoy lower electricity prices provided by our government.”

With this NERSA approval, customers that have registered their solar rooftop electricity generation, as required by law, will also be able to export their own-generated excess energy into the grid.

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