Eskom has confirmed that Stage 3 loadshedding remains in effect across South Africa this Saturday, as the utility works to replenish emergency reserves following unexpected breakdowns at multiple power stations.
What’s the latest loadshedding situation?
The power cuts, which began on Friday, 31 January at 17:00, will continue until at least Sunday midnight.
The announcement came during Eskom’s Portfolio Committee Meeting on Energy, where executives explained that the recent failures forced them to drain emergency reserves to prevent grid instability.
Now, those reserves must be replenished, requiring loadshedding to be implemented over the weekend.
Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane described the situation as a “temporary setback” but assured the public that loadshedding is not making a full return.
“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,” he said.
How Eskom’s system is holding up
Despite implementing power cuts, Eskom insists that its system is in a much better state than in previous years. The utility has highlighted that:
- Unplanned outages have increased to 13,313MW, though they remain on a downward trend, averaging 12,087MW over the past 10 months.
- A total of 3,410MW is expected to be returned to service by Monday, 3 February 2025, which should ease pressure on the grid.
- Diesel savings have reached R16.3 billion, significantly lower than the R27.09 billion spent over the same period last year.
Eskom has indicated that it will reassess the situation on Sunday, 2 February 2025, and will announce whether loadshedding will continue into next week or if a lower stage will be implemented.
What to expect at Stage 3 loadshedding
Stage 3 means that Eskom will shed up to 3,000 megawatts from the national grid. This results in three daily power cuts, lasting up to four hours per session.
Households and businesses should expect:
- Widespread outages affecting daily activities, including traffic congestion due to non-functioning traffic lights.
- Increased reliance on backup power sources, such as generators and solar energy systems, for essential services.
- Higher risk of loadshedding escalation if demand continues to outstrip available capacity.
Eskom has urged South Africans to reduce electricity consumption, warning that excessive demand could push the country into higher loadshedding stages.
City of Cape Town’s loadshedding schedule
While most of South Africa faces Stage 3 loadshedding, City of Cape Town customers will experience reduced power cuts due to the city’s loadshedding mitigation plan.
This is made possible through the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme, which allows Cape Town to lessen the impact of outages.
City of Cape Town Mayoral Committee Member for Energy, Xanthea Limberg, confirmed to Swisher Post that the city would provide up to two stages of protection where feasible.
“The City is preparing a loadshedding mitigation plan to ease the impact on Cape Town residents. However, we ask customers to reduce their electricity usage to help ensure this remains possible,” she said.
City of Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Saturday, 1 February 2025
Date | 00:00 – 06:00 | 06:00 – 12:00 | 12:00 – 17:00 | 17:00 – 22:00 | 22:00 – 23:59 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Saturday, 1 Feb 2025 | Stage 3 | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 3 |
The next Eskom power system update will be provided on Sunday, 2 February 2025, when the utility will determine whether loadshedding will continue next week or if operations can return to normal.