Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented on Tuesday afternoon at 16:00 to 05:00, and on Wednesday afternoon at the same time.

Stage 2 loadshedding will continue being implemented at 05:00 to 16:00 daily until further notice.

Eskom says it is being forced to "strictly conserve" fuel reserves for its diesel-fired gas turbines given budget restrictions. The turbines are usually used for emergency power generation to avoid load shedding.

"The refuelling and maintenance outage starting this week, as well as the long-term operation project of Unit 1 of the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, together with the October chimney failure that has forced three generation units offline at Kusile Power Station, will further reduce available generation capacity and significantly increase the occurrence of load shedding during the next six to twelve months," Eskom said on Tuesday.

A generating unit each at Camden and Kendal power stations was taken offline for repairs over the past 24 hours. The delay in returning to service a generating unit each at Arnot, Kriel and Matla power stations has contributed to the capacity constraints. A generating unit each at Arnot, Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal, Kriel, Lethabo, and two units at Majuba power stations were returned to service during this period.

Some 4 394 MW of power generation is out due to planned maintenance, while another 16 880MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.