Eskom has adjusted the Stage 6 loadshedding schedule on Friday, 1 July 2022, to allow South Africans a bit of relief, albeit it will be short-lived.
Stage 6 loadshedding adjusted on Friday, 1 July 2022
In a statement, the power utility revealed that the heightened rolling blackouts allowed enough time to replenish its emergency reserves “sufficiently to not require Stage 6 Loadshedding during the morning.”
Therefore, between 05:00 and 16:00 on Friday, loadshedding will be reduced to Stage 4. Thereafter, Eskom confirmed, rotational blackouts will return to Stage 6 until 22:00.
Readers from these metros can check the latest loadshedding schedule below:
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Ekurhuleni
- City of Tshwane
- City of Cape Town
- Nelson Mandela Bay
- eThekwini
- Manguang
- Buffalo City
D-Day for Eskom in Friday’s wage talks
The state-owned electricity provider is currently locked in intense wage negotiations with workers represented by the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) and Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA).
A deadlock in wage talks prompted workers from a number of key power plants to stay away from work, despite the fact that Eskom was awarded a court interdict that recognised the strike as unlawful.
According to Eskom CEO, Andre de Ruyter, workers not participating in the strike have been subjected to abuse and intimidation. Managerial staff members at Arnot, Camden, Duvha and Kriel power stations have had to brave attacks from protesters in order to man the fort at work.
At Lethabo, the situation has been dire. Four plant operators’ homes were petrol-bombed on Monday, 27 June 2022, and at least 70 maintenance staff members have not reported for duty all week.
On Friday, Eskom will hold another round of wage talks with trade unions, where the power utility is expected to submit a 7% counteroffer. Failure to reach an agreement on Friday may exacerbate the situation with increased stages of loadshedding expected.
“There remains a risk that the stage of loadshedding may have to change at any time, depending on the state of the plant,” Eskom warned.
