Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, 1 September 2023, which forecasts recurring all-day shifts of Stage 4 outages.
UPDATE 2: On Sunday, 3 September 2023, Eskom upgraded loadshedding to Stage 5 until 05:00 on Monday. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
UPDATE: On Saturday, 2 September 2023, Eskom confirmed loadshedding will remain at Stage 4 until 16:00 on Sunday, 3 September 2023 due to “the loss of an additional 4 generating units today and the requirement to replenish emergency reserves.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 1 September 2023
On Thursday, 31 August 2023, Eskom published a statement confirming that for the rest of the week, loadshedding would persist at Stage 4.
Thereafter, rotational outages are expected to drop to Stage 2 from 05:00 on Sunday, 3 September 2023.
“This is necessary due to the need to recover emergency generation reserves, and the generation maintenance to be implemented in preparation for the coming week,” Eskom explained.
Here’s a look at the weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 1 September 2023:
| Date | Morning Peak (05:00 – 16:00) | Evening Peak (16:00 – 05:00) |
| Friday 1 Sep 2023 | Stage 4 | Stage 4* |
| Saturday 2 Sep 2023 | Stage 4* | Stage 4* |
| Sunday 3 Sep 2023 | Stage 4* | Stage 5 |
Update on breakdowns and available capacity
On Thursday, 31 August 2023, Eskom reported more than 14 953MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 5 917MW offline due to several units placed out of commission for planned maintenance.
Here is a snapshot of Eskom’s energy availability, observed from the evening peak period of Tuesday, 29 August 2023:
