JOHANNESBURG - Over the last several months, South Africa has often ‘technically’ hit Stages 7 and 8.
But load reduction has ensured the public has only been subjected to a Stage 6 schedule.
CSIR senior researcher Monique le Roux says the country's energy availability has been showing a decline over the years, and it's just a matter of time before we officially get to Stage 8.
"Everything at the moment depends on how Eskom can manage their unplanned outages.
READ: Eskom announces Stage 6 power cuts until further notice
"If we are sitting with around 190,00MW of unplanned outages, that means this time of the year we'll be in Stage 6," she said.
"We know that at the end of last year, Eskom had 210,00MW of unplanned outages and that's a very likely scenario that could hit us this winter.
"If we are looking at 210,00MW of unplanned outages, that means we definitely will be in Stage 7 officially of load-shedding, even Stage 8," Le Roux said.