Winter warning raises blackout fears in South Africa

South Africa is bracing for a grim winter, after the state-owned power company Eskom announced a high likelihood of prolonged power outages.

“With the winter season upon us, our power system will be even more constrained…weather forecasters are anticipating a much colder winter and these challenges will result in high electricity demand”, said Eskom chairperson Mpho Makwana on Thursday.

The country is currently experiencing "stage 6" load shedding, where consumers go without electricity for up to 12 hours a day. With "stage 8" load shedding expected this winter, consumers will have up to 16 hours of no electricity every single day.

Stage 8 power cuts would require up to 8,000MW to be shed from the national grid. This is likely to cause more businesses to shut down, further job losses and a high possibility of civil unrest.

Even though officials insist that the risk of a blackout is low, many South Africans are worried that the worst case scenario is very likely.

This article originally appeared on BBC News

Photo: EPA