Load shedding pushed back to stage 6 – here’s the new schedule
Power utility Eskom says it will be moving back to stage 6 load shedding on Monday (24 April) as the grid comes under strain.
Due to the generation capacity constraints, stage 6 load shedding will be implemented from 16h00 this afternoon until 05h00 on Tuesday. Thereafter, Stage 4 load shedding will
be implemented from 05h00 until 16h00 on Tuesday.
Stage 6 load shedding will continue overnight on Tuesday until 05h00 on Wednesday, after which stage 3 load shedding will be implemented.
While Eskom had intended to keep load shedding at stage 3 and stage 4, system pressure has made this impossible. The group warned that the planned load shedding stages might again change at short notice.
“Eskom will publish a further update as soon as any significant changes occur,” it said.
The schedule is as follows:
Monday, 24 April
- Stage 3: until 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Tuesday, 25 April
- Stage 6: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 4: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 6: 16h00 to 00h00
Wednesday, 26 April
- Stage 6: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 3: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00
Breakdowns are currently at 17,955MW of generating capacity while the generating capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 5,042MW.
Over the past 24 hours, a generation unit each at Camden, Matla and Tutuka power stations were returned to service.
In the same period, a generating unit each at Duvha, Grootvlei, Kendal, Majuba, Medupi and two generating units at Kriel power stations were taken offline for repairs.
“The team is working around the clock to ensure that generating units are returned to service as soon as possible,” it said.
South Africans have again been warned to expect even higher stages of load shedding in the coming months as the colder weather hits in winter, pushing up demand. Eskom is currently struggling to consistently produce over 25,000MW of energy, while demand is around 30,000MW.
Winter demand can push up to 37,000MW, leading to a significant shortfall.
Speaking at the Demand Side Management Indaba on Monday, Eskom head of Distribution Monde Bala said that the company could secure around 1,500MW by the country – households, businesses and industries – coming together to make simple changes to manage electricity usage better.
“We believe that there are quite a significant footprint of the traditional geysers that present an opportunity for further savings at a residential level.
“We believe that in terms of public lighting and street lighting there’s further opportunity to do public lighting in a manner that is energy efficient. The building and buildings codes…we are trying to press the process so that when…you do get approved, you get approved with energy efficiency in mind.
“Over and above that, we are aware that there’s a significant number of rooftop solar PVs that have already been installed which we could potentially tap into. So we’re looking at that as opportunity,” he said.
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.
Read: Good news for South Africans running generators to beat load shedding
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