The Cape Town loadshedding schedule is expected to switch between Stages 3 and 4 on Saturday, 3 June 2023.
UPDATE: Only hours after suspending loadshedding indefinitely, Eskom reversed its decision and announced rotational power outages will return at 16:00 on Saturday, 3 June 2023. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
Cape Town loadshedding schedule for Saturday, 3 June 2023
On Friday, 3 June 2023, Eskom confirmed this weekend’s loadshedding schedule would follow the week’s severe blackouts, with the only reprieve seen on Sunday, 4 June 2023, where rotational outages will be paused during the daytime.
In the last 24 hours, Eskom’s generation fleet lost a unit at Arnot and another at Duvha, while the utility’s constraints were further compounded by delays in returning several units to service at Hendrina, Lethabo, Majuba, Matimba, Matla and Camden.
Therefore, on Saturday, Stage 2 loadshedding will be in effect between 05:00 and 16:00, and thereafter increase to Stage 4 from 16:00 until 05:00 the next day.
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, 3 June 2023:
| Time | Cape Town | Eskom |
| 05:00 – 16:00 | No loadshedding | No loadshedding |
| 16:00 – 05:00 | Stage 4* | Stage 4* |
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.