After losing additional generating capacity, Eskom announced on Monday morning that it would be moving to stage 4 load shedding from 10:00 until 23:00.
In a power update, the utility said that the loss of additional generating units had increased unplanned breakdowns to 14 200MW. Unplanned breakdowns were at around 12 000MW on Sunday evening,
"In addition, with the incessant rains we are beginning to experience flooding at some power stations, which have further led to load losses and has impacted supply as the rainy weather persists."
Stage 4 allows for up to 4 000MW - just under 10% of Eskom's nominal capacity - to be cut from the national grid.
"Stage 4 is no cause for alarm as the system is being effectively controlled," it said.
The power utility announced on Sunday evening that it would be implementing stage 2 rotational power cuts all day on Monday. It previously said it expected load shedding to stop at 23:00 on Monday, but this has now been upgraded to stage 4.
There is also a high likelihood that power rationing will be implemented for the rest of the week.