The Cape Town loadshedding schedule will follow the week’s trend on Friday, 21 July 2023, with Stage 4 loadshedding delayed until the evening.
UPDATE: On Friday, 21 July 2023, Eskom escalated loadshedding to Stage 5 from 16:00 until midnight “due to higher than anticipated demand.” See the updated schedule below.
Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 21 July 2023
On Wednesday, 19 July 2023, Eskom escalated loadshedding to Stage 4 due to “the breakdowns of eight generating units since Tuesday evening.”
In a statement, the power utility revealed daytime outages will be dropped to Stage 2 on Thursday, from Stage 3, and in the evenings, rotational blackouts will remain at Stage 4 well into the weekend.
“The delay in returning to service a generating unit each at Kendal, Kriel, Matla and two generating units at Tutuka power stations is contributing to the current capacity constraints,” Eskom explained.
Barring no further updates from Megawatt Park, the City of Cape Town clients will be protected from Stage 4 loadshedding between 16:00 and 22:00.
“We are doing all we can to protect you where possible, but non-stop load-shedding at high stages impacts our ability to protect,” the City wrote.
Here’s a look at the Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 21 July 2023:
| Time | Cape Town | Eskom |
| 05:00 – 16:00 | Stage 1* | Stage 2* |
| 16:00 – 22:00 | Stage 3* | Stage 5* |
| 22:00 – 05:00 | Stage 3* | Stage 5* |
How to check your loadshedding schedule
In Cape Town, loadshedding is implemented rotationally in zones split between 23 areas.
Areas 1 – 16 follow the City of Cape Town’s loadshedding schedule, while Areas 17 – 23 adhere to Eskom’s national outage timetable.
To check the latest outage status, refer to the schedule for the loadshedding stage announced; dates indicated along the top (left to right), with the corresponding affected areas for that day and time slots (from top to bottom).
Here’s how City of Cape Town lowers loadshedding stages
The City of Cape Town has its Steenbras Pumped Storage Plant to thank for the delayed implementation of increased power cuts. The hydro-electric pumped power station is the first of its kind in Africa and in 2019, it was refurbished to provide auxiliary support when needed most.
Currently, the City of Cape Town is the only metro able to provide a semblance of relief to households impacted by loadshedding. Using the hydroelectric pumped power plant, residents connected to the City’s grid experience a lower stage of loadshedding, where possible.
Here’s how the Steenbras Pumped Storage plant works:
- Electricity generated during off-peak periods pumps water to an upper storage reservoir
- The down-flowing water is then used to power a generator
- Small hydro-generators like the one at Steenbras Dam mean that the City can sometimes avoid loadshedding or stay at a lower stage.
