(Bloomberg) --

South Africa’s rolling electricity blackouts will continue for a second day on Saturday because a cold spell is pushing up demand on an already wobbly generation system.

National power utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said its cutting 2,000 megawatts from the network throughout the day after plant breakdowns reduced capacity. The company has struggled to maintain stable generation capacity and resumed power cuts on Friday. Supply had stabilized in the past four months when the coronavirus outbreak and a national lockdown shuttered most economic activities.

The shortages, also known as load shedding, darkens the outlook for Africa’s most industrialized economy, which is forecast to contract 7.2% this year. Eskom, which hasn’t had a stable generation system for more than a decade, is saddled with a debt pile of 450 billion rand ($27 billion).

“Continuing with load shedding is necessary in order to replenish the emergency generation reserves to better prepare for the coming week,” Eskom said. “Due to the much colder weather, demand has also risen significantly.”

A cold front hit South Africa on Thursday with some parts of the country, particularly the Western Cape province, experiencing localized flooding, gale-force winds and snowfall, according to the South African weather service.

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