Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, 18 August 2023, which forecasts recurring evening shifts of Stage 3 outages.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 18 August 2023
On Monday, 14 August 2023, Eskom issued an update on the state of the power system, confirming that patterned outages are expected to drop considerably.
Therefore, barring no unforeseen breakdowns, households should brace Stage 1 loadshedding between 05:00 and 16:00 on Friday, 18 August 2023, and Stage 3 in the evenings until further notice.
“The delay in returning to service a generating unit at Kendal, Matimba and 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, 18 August 2023:
| Date | Morning Peak (05:00 – 16:00) | Evening Peak (16:00 – 05:00) |
| Friday 18 August 2023 | Stage 1* | Stage 3* |
| Saturday 19 August 2023 | Stage 1* | Stage 3* |
| Sunday 20 August 2023 | Stage 1* | Stage 3* |
Update on breakdowns and available capacity
On Monday, 14 August 2023, Eskom reported more than 16 054MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 3 921MW offline due to several units placed out of commission for planned maintenance.
Since Friday, Eskom’s generation fleet lost a generating unit at Kendal, Matimba and Tutuka power stations.
Here is a snapshot of Eskom’s energy availability, observed from the evening peak period of Wednesday, 16 August 2023: