Just when things couldn’t get any worse, Eskom plunged South Africa into stage 4 loadshedding on Wednesday, sending netizens into a furore that ruptured the internet.
Stage 4 loadshedding – Will it get any worse?
The ailing power utility left millions of South Africans peeved when it issued a statement, announcing that for the better half of the workday, rotational power cuts would be doubling the frequency of outages normally felt at Stage 2.
This nightmare development comes as a result of breakdowns reported at Medupi and Duvha power stations, Eskom said. To mitigate a scary situation, the power utility claims it was left with no choice but to roll out the blackouts at an increased level between 14:00 and 22:00 on Wednesday.
“This is in order to ration the remaining emergency generation reserves, which have been depleted,” the power utility wrote.
South Africans react to stage 4 blackouts
When the stage 4 schedule expires at 22:00, South Africa will be lifted to stage 2 loadshedding “in order to maintain the stability of the national grid.”
Eskom’s apology for this epic blunder was, unfortunately, unreservedly declined by South Africans. Here are some of the reactions we picked out on social media:
Don’t irritate us and complain about stage 4 loadshedding.
— Sentletse (@Sentletse) June 9, 2021
You agree with Ramaphosa that the incompetent De Ruyter is doing a good job.
“We’re moving to stage 4”
— aaliiiyah (@aalzzzzz) June 9, 2021
My sister : lockdown or load shedding ?
More than 14 years of #Loadshedding and no clear plan to fix Eskom. Today we are back at Stage 4 loadshedding.
— Christo (@ChristoThurston) June 9, 2021
Stage 4 Loadshedding and there is still no reconfiguration of the Board, no great movement on holding the CEO accountable. No word from the Ministers responsible for Eskom and Energy jointly.
— Lukhona Mnguni (@LukhonaMnguni) June 9, 2021
We are just vibing. What a terrible place these people are turning our beloved nation.