Stage 4 load shedding hits after more breakdowns and delays – here’s the new schedule

Eskom said that due to setbacks resulting in the shutdown of six generating units and the delay in returning three generating units to service, Stage 3 load shedding will be implemented at 16:00 today, 12 January.

Stage 3 will continue until 16:00 on Saturday, 13 January, when stage 4 will be implemented. Stage 3 will then return at 05:00 on Sunday, 14 January.

This rotation from stages 3 and 4 will continue until Sunday, with Eskom giving any updates should they be required.

The schedule for the weekend can be found below:

Friday 12 January

• Stage 1: 05h00 to 16h00
• Stage 3: 16h00 to 00h00

Saturday, 13 January

• Stage 3: 00h00 to 16h00
• Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00

Sunday

• Stage 4: 00h00 to 05h00
• Stage 3: 05h00 to 16h00
• Stage 4: 16h00 to 00h00

Eskom said that unplanned outages are currently at 15,561MW of generating capacity, while the capacity out of service for planned maintenance is 7,828MW. Eskom’s load forecast for evening peak demand for Friday is 25,169MW.

Eskom said that its teams are working to ensure that 1,960MW of generating capacity is returned to service by Monday, 15 January evening.

Schedules 

For people living in the major metros, load shedding schedules are available here:

For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.

Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.