After a 10-month period of uninterrupted electricity supply, Eskom has confirmed the return of loadshedding, implementing Stage 3 power cuts from Friday, 31 January at 17:00 until Sunday midnight.
UPDATE: Eskom released a statement on Tuesday evening (25 February 2025) confirming that loadshedding will be suspended at 05:00 on Wednesday due to “the successful recovery of generation capacity and significant progress in replenishing emergency reserves.“ The schedule has been updated below.
Here is the adjusted loadshedding schedule for City of Cape Town customers:
| Date | 05:00 – 16:00 | 16:00 – 17:30 | 17:30 – 22:00 | 22:00 – 00:00 |
| Monday 24 Feb 25 | Stage 3 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 4 |
| Tuesday 25 Feb 25 | Suspended | Suspended | Suspended | Stage 2 |
| Wednesday 26 Feb 25 | Suspended* | Suspended | Suspended | Suspended |
Eskom confirms return of loadshedding
The announcement came during a Portfolio Committee Meeting on Energy, where Eskom executives outlined the reasons for the sudden reintroduction of rolling blackouts.
Eskom attributed the loadshedding to unexpected breakdowns at several power stations, which forced the utility to drain emergency reserves in an attempt to stabilise the grid.
With reserves depleted, Eskom said it had no choice but to replenish them by implementing loadshedding over the weekend.
“This is a temporary setback,” Eskom stated.
“Loadshedding is largely behind us due to structural improvements in our generation fleet. However, over the past week, we have experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times, which necessitates this intervention.”
Eskom will provide further updates on Sunday, 2 February 2025, depending on whether the situation improves or if higher stages of loadshedding will be necessary.
What to expect at Stage 3 loadshedding
At Stage 3, Eskom sheds up to 3,000 megawatts from the national grid, meaning power cuts will occur three times a day for up to four hours per session.
South Africans can expect widespread outages across residential and commercial areas, impacting daily activities, businesses, and essential services.
Eskom has urged households to reduce electricity usage, as excessive demand could worsen the situation and result in a higher stage of loadshedding.
City of Cape Town loadshedding schedule
While the rest of the country will endure Stage 3 blackouts, City of Cape Town customers will receive some relief due to the municipality’s loadshedding mitigation strategy.
In a statement to Swisher Post, Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg confirmed that the city’s Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme will be activated to lessen the impact on Cape Town residents.
“The City is preparing a loadshedding mitigation plan focused on providing up to two stages of protection for City customers where feasible,” said Limberg.
“City customers are asked to please also reduce their usage of electricity, as this makes City protection so much more feasible in general.”