Eskom extends load shedding suspension – here’s the latest

·16 Sep 2023

Power utility Eskom has extended the suspension of load shedding as a result of lower demand.

Due to lower-than-anticipated demand, load shedding will be suspended from 22:00 tonight. Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday (18 September), said Eskom.

Eskom will issue an update for the week ahead on Sunday afternoon.

Despite the brief reprieve from power cuts, Eskom’s load shedding for the rest of the year is bleak.

The latest system report from Eskom is a sea of red, with the utility warning that the next 52 weeks are projected to see generation shortfalls of over 2,000MW (2 stages of load shedding) – at minimum.

While the country has not yet moved beyond stage 6 in its national schedules, the power utility has been forced to pull megawatts off the grid that far exceeds the stage 6 definitions.

Eskom defines each stage of load shedding in tranches of 1,000MW – even though this is not a strict technical limit. When stage 1 load shedding hits, for instance, it could reflect anywhere between 800MW and 1,200MW being pulled from the grid.

It also depends on the time of day, as demand picks up in the mornings and the evenings, yet national load shedding stages and schedules do not rapidly fluctuate during those hours.

However, despite this flexibility, Eskom has moved into stage 7 load shedding without announcing it nationally in recent days.

If these factors aren’t managed, higher stages of load shedding may be necessary.

Code Red at Eskom

Schedules

For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:

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.

Read: Big changes for inverters and solar in Cape Town next month

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