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‘Those June good times?’ – Eskom eases daytime load shedding
Eskom announced a welcome reduction in daytime load shedding as from Wednesday. Here is the updated schedule.
Eskom has announced a reduction in daytime load shedding from Wednesday, 2 August. Photo: iStock
Eskom said on Tuesday afternoon daytime load shedding will be downgraded to Stage 1 from 5am until 4pm on Wednesday, as well as for the rest of the week.
The announcement was received with a mixture of joy and disbelief on social media, with one user asking whether “those June good times [are] coming back?”.
The power utility said the easing in load shedding follows a recovery in generation capacity.
Stage 4, however, will remain during the evening peak times.
Updated load shedding schedule
Tuesday, 1 August
- Stage 2: Until 4pm
- Stage 4: 4pm to 12am
Wednesday, 2 August
- Stage 4: 12am to 5am
- Stage 1: 5am to 4pm
- Stage 4: 4pm to 12am
The updated schedule will repeat until further notice.
Impact of cold weather on electricity demand
The daytime relief in blackouts comes as the latest cold front has upped the chill factor in areas such as Gauteng. The colder weather is expected to continue throughout the rest of the week.
Eskom has issued several alerts urging South Africans to manage their electricity demand to avert the implementation of higher stages of load shedding.
ALSO READ: Brrr weather alert: Gauteng residents warned to brace for another cold front
During a media briefing on Sunday, Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa also warned against the impact a higher demand in electricity during colder weather could have on the grid.
“There’s a cold front, especially in the Gauteng area, I did say before it accounts for a significant amount, about 25% of the load. It is something that is worrying and you are expecting the demand is going to surge,” Ramokgopa said.
“If the improvements in relation to available capacity does not match the increases on the demand side, then the only corrective measure we have, is what we call load shedding. I am hopeful we should be in a position to address that situation.”
Schedules for major metros
Residents of major metros, can find there schedules here:
- City of Johannesburg
- City of Ekurhuleni
- City of Tshwane
- City of Cape Town (PDF)
- Nelson Mandela Bay
- eThekwini
- Manguang
- Buffalo City
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Additional reporting by Faizel Patel
NOW READ: ‘Load shedding an unwelcome occurrence, all of us suffering’ – Ramokgopa
