Eskom reports that due to a problem with generation capacity, load shedding will go to stage 6 on Friday.
Stage 6 load shedding will take place on Friday from 12:00 PM to 5:00 PM on Monday.
The increase comes after warnings all week long that the grid is volatile and that the only ways to keep it under control are by reducing demand and performing less maintenance.
There are now 15,901 MW of unplanned outages and 5,822 MW of capacity out of service due to scheduled maintenance. 27,206 MW is the load estimate for the evening peak demand.
If load shedding is necessary, Eskom promised to report any changes and to keep a careful eye on the electricity grid.
The organisation was compelled to move to stage 4 on Wednesday due to increased failures at Eskom over the last two weeks.
The group's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has regressed from the much-celebrated 60% level reached a month ago, despite political statements indicating improvements in Eskom's generation capacity, according to the most recent plant performance data compiled by independent energy analyst Pieter Jordaan.
The country's energy forecast is seriously troubled because outages have exceeded 30% capacity.
Other load-shedding schedules can be seen at loadshedding.eskom.co.za by Eskom.
Users of smartphones may also download the EskomSePush app to get push alerts for load shedding and when the region they are in will be off.
