Eskom published the weekend loadshedding schedule starting on Friday, 8 September 2023, which forecasts recurring all-day shifts of Stage 5 outages.
UPDATE: On Friday, 8 September 2023, Eskom confirmed rotational outages will be downgraded to Stage 3 from 05:00 on Saturday, with plans to see rolling blackouts reduced to Stage 1 by Sunday, 10 September 2023. See the updated loadshedding schedule below.
Weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 8 September 2023
On Thursday, 7 September 2023, Eskom confirmed that rolling blackouts will be reduced to Stage 5 between 05:00 and 16:00 on Friday, 8 September 2023 “due to improved generation capacity and emergency reserves.
“Eskom will publish another update on Friday afternoon,” the power utility wrote.
Moreover, Eskom pleaded with the public “to reduce the demand during the evening peak between 17:00 to 21:00.”
Here’s a look at the weekend loadshedding schedule starting Friday, 8 September 2023:
| Date | Morning Peak (05:00 – 16:00) | Evening Peak (16:00 – 05:00) |
| Friday 8 Sep 2023 | Stage 5* | Stage 5* |
| Saturday 9 Sep 2023 | Stage 3* | Stage 4* |
| Sunday 10 Sep 2023 | Stage 1* | Stage 4* |
Update on breakdowns and available capacity
On Friday, 8 September 2023, Eskom reported more than 15 895MW of generation capacity lost to breakdowns, with an additional 5 474MW 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 Thursday, 7 September 2023:
