Be prepared for load shedding, says Eskom

Cape Town - South Africans' brief respite from power cuts may be about to end. Power utility Eskom has warned that there is a medium risk of load shedding during the day on Wednesday, shifting to a very high probability in the evening. 

"There is a medium probability of load shedding during the day, with a very high probability of load shedding for this evening," Eskom said in a tweet early on Wednesday morning.

Eskom spokesperson Khulu Phasiwe said on Tuesday: "If any of our generating units break down we might be forced to implement [load shedding]."

Phasiwe said: "We are doing everything to bring back the generators that are out on maintenance services."

Eskom announced on Monday that unit six of its newly-built Medupi power station in Limpopo had produced power for the first time. It said the unit's full potential of 794 megawatts will be fed into the national grid within the next three months.

There is a medium probability of #load_shedding during the day, with a very high probability of #load_shedding for this evening.

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) March 4, 2015