Load shedding pushed to stage 5 – here’s the new schedule
Eskom will push load shedding to stage 5 later today due to an increase in planned maintenance.
Stage 5 load shedding will start at 16:00 today, 3 September, until 05:00 Monday, 4 September where stage 4 load shedding will start.
Stage 5 load shedding will then start again at 16:00 on Monday. Eskom said that this pattern will continue until further notice.
The schedule for the week ahead is below:
Sunday, 3 September
- Stage 4: 00h00 to 16h00
- Stage 5: 16h00 to 00h00
Monday, 4 September
- Stage 5: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 4: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 5: 16h00 to 00h00
Tuesday, 5 September
- Stage 5: 00h00 to 05h00
- Stage 4: 05h00 to 16h00
- Stage 5: 16h00 to 00h00
“Due to the necessary increase in generation planned maintenance, from an average of 3,000 MW in June to an average of 6,000 MW in September, coupled with the recent multiple generation unit failures,” Eskom said.
“The increase in the stages of load shedding is necessary to recover emergency generation reserves.
The embattled power utility added that breakdowns currently stand at 16,572 MW of generating capacity while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 6,287 MW.
In addition, over the weekend, a generating unit at Duvha, Hendrina, Tutuka and two generating units at Kendal were taken offline for repairs.
That said, a generating unit at Arnot, Camden and Grootvlei power stations were returned to service over the same period.
Eskom said that the load forecast for evening peak demand is 26,608 MW and has asked members of the public to reduce demand by turning off non-essential appliances.
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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