• Eskom has issued a power alert this Friday confirming that peak loadshedding will be downgraded from Stage 4 to Stage 3 for the weekend.
• The downgrade is the result of decreased demand, according to the power utility.
• At the time of writing, Stage 3 will be in effect from 16:00 until 05:00 each day.

This afternoon Eskom issued a power alert via Twitter (now X) as has been its modus operandi for a number of months now. The alert confirms that the weekend’s loadshedding schedule will see blackouts during the peak period downgraded from Stage 4 to Stage 3.

To that end, Stage 3 will be in effect from 16:00 until 05:00 the following morning over the next few days.

This change takes effect from today, 4th August, with Eskom noting the lower level of loadshedding will continue until further notice. As we have seen in the past, the loadshedding schedule can intensify at the drop of a hat, so South Africans will still need to be on high alert this weekend.

While there has been lower demand, the continued cold fronts on the highveld will likely mean many people will be spending time indoors this weekend, so that situation may change in the coming days too.

Eskom also adds that breakdowns are currently sitting at 15 901MW of generating capacity, with a further 4 014MW outlined for maintenance. Added to this are three generating units, one at Matla and two at Camden, are delayed in returning to service.

To keep up-to-date on any changes to the loadshedding schedule, as always, we advise downloading the EskomSePush app on iOS, Android, or AppGallery.

[Image – Photo by marianne bos on Unsplash]