South Africans have been warned to brace for another bout of load shedding on Thursday evening from 4pm to 11pm.
This was announced by Eskom in a brief tweet, which explained that this was due to a "shortage in capacity".
%%%twitter https://twitter.com/hashtag/PowerAlert?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PowerAlert
Eskom regrets that Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 16:00 to 23:00 today due to a shortage of capacity.
@CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @CityofCT @eThekwiniM @SABCNewsOnline @ewnupdates @IOL @eNCA @SAgovnews @News24 @SowetanLIVE
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA)
The latest announcement comes days after the embattled entity assured citizens there would be no load shedding but warned that unplanned breakdowns in its system could result in load shedding at short notice.
"The system remains constrained and vulnerable, with generating plants performing at very low levels of reliability. With unplanned breakdowns at 9 100MW, the probability of load shedding remains, but will only be implemented if absolutely necessary," Eskom said in a statement.
"There is sufficient diesel for our open cycle gas turbines and water at the pumped storage schemes to supplement the shortage of capacity, if required."
File photo: Ian Landsberg/African News Agency (ANA).
The power utility said the situation was being monitored closely and appealed to consumers to use electricity sparingly to reduce demand.
South Africa last experienced load shedding early last month.
* This is a developing story