Just when residents thought they had a reprieve, Stage 3 loadshedding abruptly returned Thursday evening, throwing plans into disarray.
Stage 3 loadshedding is back: Here’s what you must know
The rollercoaster ride of power availability took another dip as Stage 3 loadshedding made an unexpected comeback this Thursday.
This decision, Eskom explained, was made to replenish critically low dam levels at pumped storage power stations.
The timing couldn’t be more inconvenient, coming off the back of an announcement that had many believing in a brief period of stability and normalcy.
The national power utility confirmed that this new round of loadshedding will kick off at 20:00 tonight, continuing until 05:00 on Friday.
With unplanned outages holding steady at 14 366MW and planned maintenance edging up to 6 307MW, the grid remains under significant strain.
Here’s the latest loadshedding schedule
After tonight’s blackout, there should be a brief suspension of loadshedding from 05:00 on Friday until 16:00, offering a window of normalcy before potential further disruptions.
Eskom has pledged to update the public on Friday afternoon, providing insights into the ongoing situation and any additional scheduling changes.
The anticipated electricity demand for this evening’s peak is a staggering 25 672MW, a figure that highlights the vast scale of energy consumption and the challenges in meeting it, especially during these constrained times.
Eskom’s acknowledgement of an increase in available generation capacity and the anticipation of lower demand over the weekend had offered a glimmer of hope—short-lived as it turned out to be.
With a total of 3 850MW of generating capacity expected to return to service by Monday evening, the utility is racing against time to stabilise the situation.
Here’s the latest loadshedding schedule:
Date | 00:00 – 05:00 | 05:00 – 16:00 | 16:00 – 20:00 | 20:00 – 00:00 |
Mon 18 Mar 24 | Stage 1 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 |
Tues 19 Mar 24 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 |
Wed 20 Mar 24 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 | Stage 2 |
Thurs 21 Mar 24 | Stage 2 | Suspended | Suspended | Stage 3* |
Friday 22 Mar 24 | Stage 3* | Suspended* | Suspended* | Suspended* |
Sat 23 Mar 24 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |
Sun 24 Mar 24 | TBC | TBC | TBC | TBC |