Load-shedding will be escalated to Stage 4 on Monday afternoon, Eskom announced. This is owing to a unit at Kusile power station tripping earlier on Monday, taking 720MW of generating capacity with it, Eskom spokesperson Sikonathi Mantshantsha said. 

"While this unit has since returned to service, it will slowly load up to full capacity during the night." 

This necessitates Stage 4 load-shedding to be implemented from 17:00 to 22:00, Mantshantsha said. 

"Eskom will continue to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes as may be necessary.

"This morning a generating unit at Hendrina, Tutuka and Kriel power stations were returned to service while a unit each at Arnot Power Station was taken offline for repairs. We currently have 1 904MW on planned maintenance, while another 17 255MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns."

Eskom appealed to all South Africans to help limit the impact of load-shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.