The power system will be severely constrained on Monday evening, with the possibility of load-shedding at short notice should there be any unit breakdowns, Eskom warned on Monday.

Load-shedding was suspended on Saturday, and the power system has recovered sufficiently to meet the demand during the day.

"[But] Eskom would like to caution the public that load-shedding might be required at short notice during the evening peaks should there be further breakdowns in currently available capacity," the utility said.

Eskom expects to return to service a generation unit each at Kusile and Kendal power stations before Monday evening.

"Should any of these units fail to return as expected, the power system will be severely constrained, presenting an increased probability of load shedding at short notice."

The return to service of a generation unit each at Matimba and Lethabo, as well as two units each at Hendrina and three at Tutuka power stations have been delayed, increasing the constraints in the evening.

"The onset of winter has seen increased demand and this will lead to a constrained system, particularly during the morning and evening peaks, throughout the winter."

Eskom urged South Africans to use electricity sparingly especially between 05:00 to 09:00 in the mornings and 16:00 to 22:00 in the evenings.

Some 3 049 MW of Eskom's capacity is offline due to planned maintenance, while another 14 985 MW of capacity is unavailable due to breakdowns.