Cape Town’s loadshedding schedule suggests residents will be protected from Stage 4 on Monday, 11 September 2023.
UPDATE 2: On Monday, 11 September 2023, Eskom confirmed Stage 5 loadshedding will be in place between 22:00 and 05:00 on Tuesday, “in order to replenish pumped storage dam levels overnight and to maintain sufficient emergency generation reserves.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
UPDATE: On Monday, 11 September 2023, Eskom confirmed loadshedding will be escalated to Stage 4 from 12:00 until further notice, “due to the failure of generating units at Arnot, Duvha and Groetvlei power stations, as well as the delay in returning generating units to service.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Monday, 11 September 2023
On Sunday, 10 September 2023, Eskom published a statement confirming that loadshedding will remain at Stage 4 from 16:00 until 05:00 the next day.
Thereafter, rotational outages are expected to return to Stage 3 until 16:00.
“This pattern will be repeated daily until further notice,” Eskom explained.
Barring no further updates from Megawatt Park, the City of Cape Town clients should 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 Monday, 11 September 2023:
| Time | Cape Town | Eskom |
| 05:00 – 10:00 | Stage 1 | Stage 4 |
| 10:00 – 16:00 | Stage 3 | Stage 4 |
| 16:00 – 22:00 | Stage 2 | Stage 4 |
| 22:00 – 05:00 | Stage 5* | 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.