Eskom pushes load shedding to stage 3 – here is the new schedule
Power utility Eskom has announced that load shedding will be pushed to stage 3 on Monday (14 November) after it experienced more breakdowns at its stations.
Stage 3 will start at 16h00 on Monday and will continue overnight, ending at 05h00 on Tuesday. This will repeat on Tuesday, Eskom said.
Stage 2 load shedding will then commence from 05h00 until 16h00 – until further notice.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, 14 November
- Stage 2: until 16h00
- Stage 3: 16h00 to 00h00
Tuesday, 15 November
- Stage 3: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 2: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 3: 16h00 to 00h00
Wednesday, 16 November
- Stage 3: 00h00 to 05h00
- After 05h00 – To be determined
The main reason behind the escalation in load shedding is a reduction in generating capacity due to breakdowns as well as depleted energy reserves.
Eskom said it will give a further update at a briefing on Tuesday.
Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented at 16:00 today until 05:00 on Tuesday; Stage 2 and 3 will be implemented on Tuesday. pic.twitter.com/76twfQV273
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) November 14, 2022
The escalation in load shedding comes after Eskom was forced to implement continued stage 2 load shedding indefinitely last week. The group had initially planned to only implement load shedding during the evening peak and overnight to help boost reserves.
However, continued breakdowns have scuppered any plans to see the power situation stabilise.
Already suffering from weak economic prospects due to stifled growth in the second quarter of the year, South Africa’s economy is set to suffer further thanks to persistent rolling blackouts.
Two major economic indicators released this past week – manufacturing and mining production – show that load shedding continues to be a massive drag on productivity and output in South Africa’s key sectors.
Economists have warned that load shedding will continue for the foreseeable future and that the economic damage will be significant.
BNP Paribas has already cut its GDP growth estimates for South Africa in 2022 by 0.6 percentage points, with other economists anticipating third-quarter growth to suffer, pushing South Africa into a technical recession due to load shedding.
While the government has already made plans to address the issue, these plans will take time to come to fruition – and warnings have come from Eskom itself that things will get worse before they get any better.
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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