Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, which forecasts reduced outages.
UPDATE: On Friday, 22 March 2024, Eskom announced changes to the loadshedding schedule. See the updated changes below.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 22 March 2024
On Thursday, Eskom ramped up blackouts with Stage 3 loadshedding.
In a statement, the power utility confirmed rolling blackouts would rise to Stage 3 at 20:00 on Thursday until 05:00 on Friday. This, the utility explained, was to “replenish the low dam levels at the pumped storage power stations.”
Loadshedding will be suspended between 05:00 and 16:00 on Friday, with an updated on this weekend’s schedule expected in the afternoon.
“Eskom will provide an update on Friday afternoon or if any significant changes occur,” the utility noted.
Here’s a look at the provisional weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 22 March 2024:
| Date | 05:00 – 16:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 | 20:00 – 00:00 | 00:00 – 05:00 |
| Fri 22 Mar 24 | Suspended | Stage 3* | Stage 3* | Stage 3* |
| Sat 23 Mar 24 | Stage 2* | Stage 3* | Stage 3* | Stage 3* |
| Sun 24 Mar 24 | Stage 2* | Stage 3* | Stage 3* | Stage 3* |
Update on breakdowns and available capacity
The last state of the power system update was on Thursday, 21 March 2024. At the time, Eskom reported more than 14 366MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 6 307MW offline due to several units placed out of commission for planned maintenance.