Electricity utility Eskom confirmed on Friday that it would implement rotational load shedding in stage 2 (about 2 000 MW) over the weekend of November 29 and 30, entrenching a pattern of rotational power cuts that first emerged after a coal silo collapsed at the Majuba power station at the beginning of November.

Weekends, which had hitherto generally been free of load shedding, owing to the fact that demand declines as the working week ends, were being purposely targeted so as to limit the impact on the economy.

In a statement, the State-owned group said there would be load shedding from 6:00 to 22:00 on Saturday and 8:00 to 22:00 on Sunday.

"The power system is extremely constrained today and into the weekend, which will necessitate the use of open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) for most of today. We anticipate that a portion of the capacity normally imported from Cahora Bassa hydroelectric (HCB) power station in Mozambique will be unavailable on Sunday as the plant undergoes urgent planned maintenance."

The system would also be constrained on Monday and Tuesday. "Emergency reserves will be used through the evening peaks, but any unforeseen technical problems at power stations or an increase in demand due to the weather conditions could necessitate the implementation of rotational load shedding."

The November 28 statement came days after new CEO Tshediso Matona confirmed that the power system was in “crisis” and that South Africa would be “living on the edge” until large-scale new capacity could be introduced, or until the existing fleet could return to an energy availability factor (EAF) of 80% – in the first half of 2014/15, the EAF from the coal-heavy fleet stood at around 76%.

There was a particular risk of ongoing load shedding during the high-maintenance summer months.

Addressing lawmakers on the crisis in Cape Town, Public Enterprises Minister Lynne Brown said “the bad news is that it is going to be very tough for about two years longer and patience will be needed on the part of all citizens”.

“The good news is that people who know what they are talking about are saying that, if we take certain critical actions, there is every reason to believe that, from 2018, things are going to be looking a whole lot brighter.”

Brown indicated earlier that she had had sight of an early draft plan designed to halt and reverse the decline in the performance of the generation fleet.

This plan, she indicated, would be made public in the coming months.