News24.com | Stage 8 next? SA hits grim new record as more than half of power generation is offline

Eskom said Stage 6 load shedding will be implemented on Monday, with the possibility of higher stages.

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More than half (24 809MW) of Eskom's installed capacity of 48 000MW was out of service on Monday morning. 

This is a new record, Eskom confirmed. Massive outages have triggered Stage 6 over the weekend, and Eskom warned of further stages of load shedding.   

South Africa is now the closest it has ever been to Stage 8 load shedding, which will mean no electricity for 12 to 14 hours a day.

READ | Nick Hedley | A total grid collapse would be a dystopian nightmare

Planned outages (3 566MW) - for maintenance work - only account for 14% of the generation capacity that is currently offline.

The rest, or 21 243MW, is due to unplanned breakdowns at the Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo, Majuba and Camden power stations.

Heavy rains have also prevented the delivery of coal from the New Vaal Mine to Lethabo Power Station.

Lethabo's three running units are at risk of shutting down if coal supply constraints are not resolved- which would mean more generating capacity would be lost.

As a result, Eskom warned of the possibility of further stages of load shedding at short notice.

READ |ESKOM LIVE | Continuous Stage 6 implemented, risk of more cuts as eight units break down

Eskom introduced Stage 6 load shedding for the first time in December 2019, after flooding disrupted coal supply and hit infrastructure. 

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