Full week of load shedding ahead – check your schedule

Eskom has announced that stage 2 load shedding will continue throughout the week, from Monday at 05h00 until Saturday (13 November).

The extended load shedding is due to the current lack of generating capacity and its inability to build sufficient reserves, the power utility said.

“Despite the implementation of stage 2 load shedding, the events over the past two days have required extensive use of emergency generating reserves, hampering the recovery of the dam levels at the pumped storage power stations, depleting already low diesel levels,” it said.

Eskom said that higher levels of load shedding may be required during the week, as the system remains incredibly volatile and unpredictable.

Analysts have warned that Eskom’s power fleet shows no signs of recovery and that load shedding is likely to remain, or even worsen over the short term.

Energy analyst Chris Yelland told the City Press that problems could escalate in January as Eskom is expected to continue with major planned maintenance at Cape Town’s Koeberg power station.

“What worries me is that one of Koeberg’s units will have to be taken offline for five months in January,” he said. “When that unit is returned to service, it will be the turn of the other one. This means that generating capacity of about 900MW won’t be available for most of next year,” said Yelland.

Dr Christie Viljoen, a senior economist at PwC, said that it was impossible to make forecasts for load shedding in South Africa due to the unpredictable nature in which power outages are introduced.

Eskom has warned in a summer load shedding forecast for 2021/2022 that its system is likely to remain severely constrained for the near future.

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.