Stage 3 blackouts return on Thursday: Here’s the latest loadshedding schedule

The sudden resurgence of Stage 3 blackouts this Thursday evening leaves many grappling with the reality of disrupted daily routines and plans.

By / / News
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Just when residents thought they had a reprieve, Stage 3 loadshedding abruptly returned Thursday evening, throwing plans into disarray.

Stage 3 loadshedding is back: Here’s what you must know

The rollercoaster ride of power availability took another dip as Stage 3 loadshedding made an unexpected comeback this Thursday.

This decision, Eskom explained, was made to replenish critically low dam levels at pumped storage power stations.

The timing couldn’t be more inconvenient, coming off the back of an announcement that had many believing in a brief period of stability and normalcy.

The national power utility confirmed that this new round of loadshedding will kick off at 20:00 tonight, continuing until 05:00 on Friday.

With unplanned outages holding steady at 14 366MW and planned maintenance edging up to 6 307MW, the grid remains under significant strain.

Here’s the latest loadshedding schedule

After tonight’s blackout, there should be a brief suspension of loadshedding from 05:00 on Friday until 16:00, offering a window of normalcy before potential further disruptions.

Eskom has pledged to update the public on Friday afternoon, providing insights into the ongoing situation and any additional scheduling changes.

The anticipated electricity demand for this evening’s peak is a staggering 25 672MW, a figure that highlights the vast scale of energy consumption and the challenges in meeting it, especially during these constrained times.

Eskom’s acknowledgement of an increase in available generation capacity and the anticipation of lower demand over the weekend had offered a glimmer of hope—short-lived as it turned out to be.

With a total of 3 850MW of generating capacity expected to return to service by Monday evening, the utility is racing against time to stabilise the situation.

Here’s the latest loadshedding schedule:

Date00:00 –
05:00		05:00 –
16:00		16:00 –
20:00		20:00 –
00:00
Mon
18 Mar 24		Stage 1Stage 2Stage 2Stage 2
Tues
19 Mar 24		Stage 2Stage 2Stage 2Stage 2
Wed
20 Mar 24		Stage 2Stage 2Stage 2Stage 2
Thurs
21 Mar 24		Stage 2SuspendedSuspendedStage 3*
Friday
22 Mar 24		Stage 3*Suspended*Suspended*Suspended*
Sat
23 Mar 24		TBCTBCTBCTBC
Sun
24 Mar 24		TBCTBCTBCTBC
*Loadshedding schedule subject to change at short notice. Updated stages are highlighted in bold.