Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 27 October 2023

On Friday, the Cape Town loadshedding schedule will be suspended. Here's everything you must know.

By / / Cape Town Buzz
Cape Town loadshedding schedule weather Friday

On Friday, the Cape Town loadshedding schedule will be suspended following a week of improvements in generation capacity.

Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 27 October 2023

On Thursday, Eskom extended the temporary suspension of loadshedding to Sunday “due to sufficient generation capacity including emergency reserves, expected units to be returned to service as well as anticipated lower demand into the weekend.”

The power utility confirmed that loadshedding a power system update will be published this weekend, with an outlook of the week ahead.

Therefore, at least until Sunday, City of Cape Town clients, as well as households connected to the national grid, will be exempt from loadshedding.

Here’s a look at the Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 27 October 2023:

TimeCape TownEskom
00:00 – 05:00Suspended*Suspended*
05:00 – 16:00Suspended*Suspended*
16:00 – 22:00Suspended*Suspended*
22:00 – 05:00Suspended*Suspended*
*Loadshedding schedule subject to change at short notice.

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.