Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 31 May 2024

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

By / / Cape Town Buzz / 2 minutes of reading

On Friday, the Cape Town loadshedding schedule will resume with no outages for City clients.

Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 31 May 2024

In a statement, Eskom reassured South Africans that loadshedding will not resume this weekend.

Unplanned outages are averaging at 12,500MW, which is below the anticipated levels for the winter outlook.

This lower-than-expected figure is a positive indicator of the system’s resilience and effectiveness of the recovery efforts.

Eskom reported that four of its power stations are performing with an energy availability factor (EAF) above 70%.

The year-to-date EAF stands at 60.73%, showing gradual improvement. This improved performance is crucial in maintaining a consistent power supply and avoiding the need for loadshedding.

Therefore, barring any unexpected changes necessitated by unplanned breakdowns at Megawatt Park’s ailing generation fleet, the City of Cape Town should avoid outages, on Friday.

Here’s a look at the Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Friday, 31 May 2024:

TimeCape TownEskom
00:00 – 05:00Suspended*Suspended*
05:00 – 16:00Suspended*Suspended*
16:00 – 20:00Suspended*Suspended*
20:00 – 22:00Suspended*Suspended*
22:00 – 00:00Suspended*Suspended*
*Loadshedding schedule subject to change at short notice. Changes are highlighted in bold.

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.