State power utility Eskom has confirmed that Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 4pm to midnight on Wednesday and Thursday.

Eskom had warned on Tuesday afternoon that load shedding may be extended due to losses in generation capacity at some of its power stations on Tuesday evening.

By Wednesday afternoon, the power utility was battling breakdowns amounting to some 14 637MW of energy, while planned maintenance outages stood at 4 550MW.

"The breakdown of a generation unit each at Duvha, Kendal and Kriel power stations during the last 24 hours, as well as delays in returning units to service at Arnot, Kusile and Tutuka power stations, have put a severe strain on the power generation system," Eskom said.

At the same time, the power utility said although it has returned other units to service, load shedding could still not be prevented.

"During the same period, Eskom teams have returned a unit each at Arnot and Tutuka power stations to service. While a generation unit each at Kriel, Majuba and Tutuka power stations are expected to return to service over the next 24 hours, this will still be insufficient to stave off load shedding for Thursday afternoon," Eskom said.

South Africans have been urged to continue using electricity sparingly at this time.