Cape town - Eskom announced that it would implement stage 2 load shedding on Thursday evening.
In a tweet Eskom said: "Eskom regrets to announce that Stage 2 load shedding has been implemented from 17:58 until 22:00 today."
Earlier on Thursday the Eskom media desk told Fin24 load shedding would be implemented at stage 1, and likely continue until 22:00 in the evening.
LOAD SHEDDING PLANNER: GridWatch
According to the supplier it is experiencing a shortage of generation capacity "as several units are currently out of service due to maintenance".
The current stages of load shedding are stage 1, when 1 000 MW is cut from the grid; stage 2, when 2 000 MW is cut from the grid; and stage 3, when about 4 000 MW is cut from the grid.
Eskom called on all customers to reduce the load on the electricity grid by urgently switching off geysers, air conditioners, pool pumps and all non-essential appliances throughout the day, which will reduce electricity demand.
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