Eskom was feeling positive about the power situation, announcing the first stage 1 load shedding for the week from 9am until 10pm nationally this morning.

@Eskom_SA will implement stage 1 loadshedding today from 09:00 to 22:00. We are loadshedding below stage 2 as we have a small improvement in generation capacity. We will advise should the situation change. @CityPowerJhb @City_Ekurhuleni @CityTshwane @eThekwiniM @SABCNewsOnline

— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) December 7, 2018

Unfortunately for Ballito this still means no power from 10am until 12pm in cooking 29 degree heat.

The northern network of KwaDukuza are lucky today however as their 2am to 4.30am slot falls outside of the load shedding schedule.

Ballito and surrounds 

Load shedding KwaDukuza northern network schedule (from Groutville to Nonoti)

Load shedding stages

Four schedules have been developed based on the possibility of risk and to ensure that load shedding is applied in a fair and equitable manner:

• Stage 1 allows for up to 1000 MW of the national load to be shed.
• Stage 2 allows for up to 2000 MW of the national load to be shed.
• Stage 3 allows for up to 3000 MW of the national load to be shed.
• Stage 4 allows for up to 4000 MW of the national load to be shed.

Load shedding will be implemented in most instances in two hour blocks.

Once Eskom has decided the time frame in which it will implement load shedding nationally (eg: from 9am – 10pm), and which stage they are in, you can visit their website for a copy of the load shedding schedule, which will tell you exactly when you will be affected, should your time slot fall within the load shedding time frame selected by Eskom.

Example: If stage 1 load shedding is implemented from 9am – 10pm, and the schedule for your area says you will be affected from 3pm – 5pm, then you will only be without power between 3pm and 5pm. Or if the schedule for your area says you will be affected from 10pm – 12am then lucky you, you won’t experience load shedding.

BUT, if load shedding changes stages, it is possible you could be affected twice in one day.

Example: If stage 1 load shedding is implemented from 9am – 10pm, and the schedule for your area says you will be affected from 10am – 12pm, you will be without power between 10am – 12pm. But if it moves to stage 2, and your stage 2 schedule says you will be without power from 4pm – 6pm, then you will also be without power from 4pm to 6pm.

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