Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 15 September 2023

Starting Friday, loadshedding will persist at Stage 6.

By / / Lifestyle
stage 6 loadshedding

Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, 15 September 2023, which forecasts recurring all-day shifts of Stage 6 outages.

UPDATE 5: On Sunday, 17 September 2023, Eskom confirmed loadshedding will be downgraded to Stage 2 from 16:00 until 16:00 on Monday, 18 September 2023 “due to further improvement in generation capacity.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.

UPDATE 4: On Saturday, 16 September 2023, Eskom confirmed loadshedding will be suspended from 22:00 until 16:00 on Sunday, 17 September 2023. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.

UPDATE 3: On Saturday, 16 September 2023, Eskom confirmed loadshedding will be suspended between 11:00 and 16:00 “due to further improvement in generation capacity.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.

UPDATE 2: On Friday, 15 September 2023, Eskom further downgraded loadshedding to Stage 4, effective from 14:00 until 05:00 on Saturday, 16 September 2023. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.

UPDATE: On Friday, 15 September 2023, Eskom downgraded loadshedding to Stage until further notice, “due to the slight improvement in generation capacity and lower demand.” See the updated loadshedding schedule below.

Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 15 September 2023

On Tuesday, 12 September 2023, Eskom confirmed that permanent Stage 6 loadshedding will continue until further notice, as the “anticipated return to service of a generating unit each at Kendal, Matla and Matimba power stations has been delayed.”

Moreover, Eskom pleaded with the public “to reduce the demand during the evening peak between 17:00 to 21:00.”

“Due to the cold weather, we appeal to all members of the public to reduce the electricity demand between 17:00 and 21:00, by switching off non-essential appliances, mainly geysers, swimming pool pumps and electric heaters.

“The evening peak forecast for today is 29 609MW and yesterday’s demand at evening peak was 33 423MW, higher than the forecast demand. The reduction will continue to assist in alleviating pressure on the system and avoid higher stages of loadshedding,” Eskom pleaded

Here’s a look at the weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 15 September 2023:

DateMorning Peak
(05:00 – 16:00)		Evening Peak
(16:00 – 05:00)
Friday
15 Sep 2023		Stage 4Stage 4
Saturday
16 Sep 2023		Suspended(16:00 – 22:00)
Stage 3*

(22:00 – 05:00)
Suspended*
Sunday
17 Sep 2023		Suspended*Stage 2*
*Loadshedding schedule subject to change at short notice.

Update on breakdowns and available capacity

On Friday, 15 September 2023, Eskom reported more than 16 468MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 4 601MW 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, 12 September 2023: