Power utility Eskom says that load shedding will be eased slightly on Friday, sticking to stage 4 all day until further notice.<\/p>\n
Stage 4 load shedding will kick in from 05h00 on Friday and continue indefinitely.<\/p>\n
Eskom previously had load shedding on a stage 4 and stage 5 rotation, moving to the higher stage in the evening.<\/p>\n
The group said that it would issue an alert if anything changes – which, given its track record, is likely.<\/p>\n
Eskom is struggling with a highly volatile and unpredictable grid, which has resulted in several changes and escalations to the load shedding schedule this week.<\/p>\n
Eskom had initially planned to bring load shedding down to stage 2 and then stage 1 during the day this week, with stage 3 in the evenings \u2013 but these plans were scuppered after the sudden breakdown of several units, and delays in returning other units back to service.<\/p>\n
Group chair Mpho Makwana has suggested that the power utility might implement a permanent state of load shedding for the next two years to bring some degree of stability to the power situation; however, this was ultimately rejected by the group as even a permanent state of load shedding would not be enough to guarantee that higher stages of load shedding would not occur.<\/p>\n
The point is moot, however, as South Africa has been in a state of permanent load shedding since early September 2022, with only a few days where load shedding was temporarily suspended.<\/p>\n
Analysts and energy experts have warned that conditions are likely to get worse as the country moves towards winter, with stage 7 or stage 8 load shedding on the cards.<\/p>\n
Schedules\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:<\/p>\n For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on\u00a0loadshedding.eskom.co.za.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n\n
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