Eskom published the loadshedding schedule for the weekend starting on Friday, 11 August 2023, which forecasts recurring evening shifts of Stage 3 outages.
UPDATE: On Saturday, 12 August 2023, Eskom confirmed Stage 3 loadshedding will be in place until 05:00 on Sunday, 13 August 2023. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
UPDATE: On Saturday, 12 August 2023, Eskom upgraded loadshedding to Stage 3 until further notice “due to a shortage of generating capacity.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 11 August 2023
On Tuesday, 8 August 2023, Eskom issued an update on the state of the power system, confirming that for the rest of this week, patterned outages are expected to drop considerably.
Therefore, barring no unforeseen breakdowns, households should brace no interruptions between 05:00 and 16:00 from Friday, 11 August 2023, and Stage 3 in the evenings until further notice.
“The delay in returning to service two generating units at Kendal and a generating unit at Tutuka power stations is contributing to the current capacity constraints,” the power utility noted.
Here’s a look at the weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 11 August 2023:
| Date | Morning Peak (05:00 – 16:00) | Evening Peak (16:00 – 05:00) |
| Friday 11 August 2023 | – | Stage 3* |
| Saturday 12 August 2023 | Stage 3* | Stage 3* |
| Sunday 13 August 2023 | Stage 1* | Stage 3* |
Update on breakdowns and available capacity
On Friday, Eskom reported more than 15 420MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 3 841MW offline due to several units placed out of commission for planned maintenance.
Since Friday, Eskom’s generation fleet lost a generating unit at Kendal and two at Tutuka power stations.
Here is a snapshot of Eskom’s energy availability, observed from the evening peak period of Thursday 10 August 2023: