Eskom has extended Stage 4 load-shedding to Wednesday owing to unlawful industrial action at various power stations, which has impacted planned maintenance and repairs.
The power utility on Sunday said at some power stations a full complement of workers failed to report for duty.
“As a result, Stage 4 load-shedding will regretfully continue to be implemented at 05:00 in the morning until Wednesday.”
In a statement, Eskom said: “This is due to unlawful and unprotected labour action at a number of power stations, which has caused delays in carrying out planned maintenance and repairs.
“Furthermore, at a number of power stations, the full staff complement has not reported for duty.
“As a result, unplanned generation losses have not been reduced as planned, which has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plants from damage.”
Eskom said it will consider “all legal options at its disposal for damage caused or incited by union representatives”.
The power utility warned there was a possibility that the stage of load-shedding may have to change at short notice, depending on the state of the plants and the availability of labour.
“Currently approximately 4 000MW of generation capacity is at risk due to the illegal strike action,” said Eskom.
“It is therefore necessary to replenish emergency generation reserves to be able to react to unforeseen circumstances.
“Adequate emergency reserves are crucial to assist with the generation deficit while dealing with generating units that may trip owing to unlawful action, and to compensate for the inability to return generating units timeously to service.”
Eskom also warned that protracted strike actions may lead to further damage and prolonged delays to returning units to service, which would compound an already constrained power system.
“We currently have 3 894MW on planned maintenance, while another 15 472MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns,” explained the power utility.
“In addition to this, a further 600MW is unavailable due to a line fault in Mozambique that is currently experienced by the Hydroelectrica de Cahora Bassa (HCB).
“Eskom wishes to pay tribute and thank those many loyal and dedicated employees who keep going beyond the call of duty to help keep the lights on.”
Eskom said it continues to closely monitor the system.
“We appeal to all South Africans to help limit the impact of the shortages by continuing to reduce the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items,” said the power utility.
“We would like to remind the public that load-shedding is implemented only as a last resort to protect the national grid.
“We, therefore, urge all South Africans to continue using electricity sparingly, especially during these uncertain times on the power system.
“Eskom appeals to its labour partners and striking employees to put the people of South Africa first, respect the law, and to desist from unlawful and undemocratic conduct. “
The power utility said the labour dispute resolution process must be allowed to run its course without illegal acts of intimidation and damage to property.
