Home Load shedding extended: Four reasons why we’ll have weekend blackouts

Load shedding extended: Four reasons why we’ll have weekend blackouts

Eskom are treating us to an encore performance to end the week. After implementing load shedding for the best part of 60 hours since Monday, the utility have confirmed that blackouts will now be in place until Friday – with a high probability of weekend outages, too.

Throughout Thursday, Stage 2 cuts will come into effect from 9:00 and will only be lifted at 6:00 the next day. Even so, Eskom could pull the plug again tomorrow, and the outlook for Saturday and Sunday is glum. In a lengthy statement, the ailing firm explained why the next few days would be unkind to South Africans:

Why load shedding may be in place over the weekend

Supply and demand

There is an “unsually high” demand for electricity this week, according to the utility. More than 11 500 MW is already off the grid, and load shedding alerts usually start when that figure hits 9 500 MW. Eskom say that an additional and unforecasted 2000 MW of power is being drained from their reserves.

In it for the long haul

Andre de Ruyter has dived head-first into his responsibilities as the new CEO: He’s grasped the nettle to sanction a wave of critical infrastructure projects across Eskom’s sites. That means, over the next 18 months, load shedding will be a regular occurrence as units go offline to facilitate these big fixes.

Running on empty – or at least, emergency…

In the statement issued ahead of Thursday’s planned outages, Eskom confirm that they are still in the process of replenishing their emergency diesel supplies. A failure to adequatly stock-up on diesel could cause a total system failure, meaning that implementing Stage 2 load shedding is the better option.

Additional shifts in power

Quite simply, Eskom have been caught off guard, and their warning – of “additional shifts in demand could cause further load shedding” – has been realised on Thursday

How to check your load shedding schedules

Eskom’s load shedding portal provides up-to-date details on the current stage of load shedding, the propensity for further rotational cuts, and an area search for direct consumers. It’s an easy-to-use search function, which, although not always 100% accurate, at least provides a rough estimate of what to expect and when.

To find out if, or when, your area or suburb will be impacted by load shedding, you first need to know whether your supply of electricity comes directly from Eskom or from the municipality. To check your daily load shedding schedule, go onto loadshedding.eskom.co.za and type your suburb/village/area in the quick-search field.

You can also call Eskom’s customer contact centre at 0860 037 566. If your electricity is supplied via the municipality, you need to refer to the table in this article and contact the relative authorities – either via internet or phone.

You can read Eskom’s full statement here:



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