The Cape Town loadshedding schedule is expected to switch between no outages and Stage 3 on Saturday, 17 June 2023.
Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Saturday, 17 June 2023
On Wednesday, 14 June 2023, Eskom confirmed this weekend’s loadshedding schedule would follow the week’s reduced blackouts, with no loadshedding between midnight and 16:00, and Stage 3 rotational outages in the evening.
In the last 24 hours, Eskom’s generation fleet lost a generation unit each at Kriel and Hendrina power stations was taken out of service due to breakdowns, while delays in returning a generating unit at Grootvlei, Hendrina, Majuba and Tutuka power stations are contributing to the current capacity constraints.
Therefore, on Saturday, loadshedding will be suspended between 00:00 and 16:00, and thereafter increase to Stage 3 from 16:00 until midnight.
Usually, residents and businesses connected to the City of Cape Town municipality’s grid are one or two stages lower than Eskom clients.
However, on Saturday, the Cape Town loadshedding schedule will follow Eskom’s outage timeline.
“We are doing all we can to protect you where possible, but non-stop loadshedding at high stages impacts our ability to protect,” the City wrote.
Here’s a look at the Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Saturday, 17 June 2023:
| Time | Cape Town | Eskom |
| 00:00 – 16:00 | No loadshedding | No loadshedding |
| 16:00 – 00:00 | Stage 3* | Stage 3* |
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.