Eskom Resumes Stage 3 Power Cuts Across South Africa

South Africa's state-owned power utility, Eskom, has announced Stage 3 load shedding from Friday afternoon until Monday morning due to a loss of 2,700 megawatts in generation capacity caused by outages at the Koeberg nuclear plant and Kusile coal station. These power cuts are necessary to stabilize the electricity grid and replenish emergency reserves ahead of the new business week. Eskom plans to restore 6,200 MW by Monday evening's peak demand but has warned of possible escalations in load shedding if further breakdowns occur. Koeberg's Unit 2 suffered an unexpected trip linked to adverse weather, while ongoing maintenance at both Koeberg and Kusile has contributed to the current challenges. The power cuts are part of a broader context of intermittent outages that have plagued South Africa for over a decade, with record levels of load shedding reported in 2023. Eskom aims to avoid a return to the severe outages experienced last year, according to its officials.