Dark days ahead this weekend as Eskom keep the lights off

It is still lights out for South Africans this weekend, as Eskom will implement stage 2 load-shedding from 8am until 10pm on Saturday and Sunday.

This is necessary to replenish the emergency generation reserves which were depleted this past week, the power utility said in a statement.

It warned the grid remained unstable and vulnerable, and urged South Africans to use electricity sparingly.

Earlier on Friday, Eskom announced it had summarily suspended the managers of the Tutuka and Kendal power stations, saying the country’s load-shedding crisis was being “exacerbated by serious issues of apathetic behaviour” by some top staff.

“While it is true the ageing fleet is plagued by legacy issues of neglect and omitted maintenance and is therefore susceptible to unpredictable breakdowns, it is also true the situation is exacerbated by serious issues of apathetic behaviour by some management staff,” it said in a statement.

“It is for this reason the board has come out strongly in support of group CEO Andre de Ruyter in his action yesterday morning of summarily suspending the Tutuka and Kendal power station managers pending disciplinary inquiries. Further interventions are ongoing at the Kriel and Duvha power stations.”

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