‘How is this not a national disaster?’ – SA reacts to possibility of stage 6 load-shedding

South Africans have vented their frustration at the possibility of power outages in Stage 6.

Eskom said there was a “very real risk” of load shedding in Stage 6 by 5pm Tuesday, after 10 generation units went offline.

The country is experiencing a level 4 load shedding, which will require up to 4,000 megawatts to be disconnected from the national grid. Stage 6 would require 6,000 MW.

According to Johannesburg City Councilor Tim Truluck, Stage 6 load shedding on the subway “means that we 1 x Load shedding for 2 hours and 2 x 4 hour slots per day”.

The outages were exacerbated by worker protests over wages, affecting at least nine power plants. Eskom is expected to meet again with union leaders on Tuesday to try to bring about a solution.

Eskom only conducted stage six power outages once in December 2019.

Social media has been awash with reactions to the possibility of more cold, dark evenings, with many calls for Eskom executives to take responsibility for the outages.

Here are some of the reactions:

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