Restore the power grid | Dark festive season on the cards

JOHANNESBURG - There may be no festive lights this year as Eskom's diesel budget may run out.

That's according to the CSIR's Monique le Roux.

She says the utility burnt a lot of diesel in November, leaving little for December.

This as South Africans will have to endure Stage 5 blackouts during the day and Stage 6 power cuts at night until Saturday.

READ: Eskom implements Stage 5 blackouts

Eskom says this is due to insufficient generation capacity and the need to further replenish emergency reserves.

"The reason why we had such levels of high load-shedding over the festive season last year was due to the fact that Eskom ran out of money to burn diesel," Le Roux said.

"Over November they burn quite a lot of diesel compared to other months. If they start running out of money we are probably going to see those levels reaching the same as last year. "