Eskom hopes to pause load shedding this weekend – here’s the new schedule
Power utility Eskom says it hopes to pause load shedding on Sunday before moving back to stage 4 next week.
The group said that stage 4 load shedding will continue until 16h00 on Thursday (1 June) and move up to stage 6 as previously scheduled.
Load shedding will drop to stage 4 on Friday before moving to stage 2 on Saturday. Load shedding is scheduled to be suspended at 05h00 on Sunday, before moving back to stage 4 at 16h00.
The full schedule is as follows:
Thursday, 1 June
- Stage 4: until 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Friday, 2 June
- Stage 6: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 4: 05h00 to 00h00
Saturday, 3 June
- Stage 4: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 2: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00
Sunday, 4 June
- Stage 4: 00h00 to 05h00
- Susupended: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00
South Africa was pushed back to stage 6 load shedding this week after Eskom failed to return generating units to service on schedule.
Breakdowns are currently at 17,863MW of generating capacity, while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 2,437MW.
Over the past 24 hours, a generating unit each at Kendal and Tutuka power stations were returned to service.
In the same period, a generation unit each at Duvha and Arnot power stations were taken out of service due to breakdowns.
The further delays in returning to service a generating unit at Arnot, Hendrina, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba, Matla, Tutuka and two generating units at Camden power stations continue to add to the current capacity constraints.
“Eskom intends to return as many of these generating units to service over the next few days,” it said.
Worryingly, unplanned outages are still extremely close to the 18,000MW ‘worst-case’ scenario outlined in the group’s winter load shedding outlook, which puts the power utility precariously close to the levels of outages it said could lead to stage 8 load shedding being implemented.
Eskom said that it needs to keep outages under 15,000MW to maintain the ‘base case’ scenario of stage 3 to stage 5 load shedding in the next few months. It has, so far, been unable to do so.
The start of the new month (1 June) marks South Africa’s official entry into winter months, with the weather already becoming much colder, adding strain to the grid.
Winter demand is expected to ramp up to 33,000MW and higher. The latest demand figures are already pushing up to around this level, with 32,726MW recorded on Wedensday (31 May).
The government and Eskom have appealed to South Africans to “do their part” in stabilising the grid by lowering their demand. The government has detailed its plans and progress made in resolving the crisis, but none of the solutions on offer are short-term or will resolve the imminent winter strain.
Schedules
For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Ekurhuleni
- City of Tshwane
- City of Cape Town (PDF)
- Nelson Mandela Bay
- eThekwini
- Manguang
- Buffalo City
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.
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