Eskom Warns Of High Risk Of Load Shedding For First Time In Over 10 Months

'This is a potentially temporary setback. Load shedding is largely behind us due to the structural improvements in our generation fleet. However, over the past seven days, we have experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times,' Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said on Friday morning.

'This has necessitated the use of all our emergency reserves, which now need to be replenished. Consequently, we are closely monitoring the status of our current emergency reserves, and load shedding up to Stage 4 may be implemented over the weekend.'

This comes a day after the National Energy Regulator of SA said that Eskom's electricity tariffs will increase by 12.7 from 1 April 2025. This is well below Eskom's request of 36.1 for 2025/26.

Eskom also reported on Thursday that its half-year profit surged more than tenfold to R17.8 billion in its half-year to end September, boosted by higher electricity tariffs, improved cash flow, and state debt relief.