Load Shedding Today: Stages, Schedules and What They Mean
Load shedding is the controlled, rotational disconnection of electricity supply that Eskom applies when national demand exceeds what the grid can safely deliver. It is deliberately not a blackout: the point of rotating the cuts is to keep the grid itself from collapsing, which would take days rather than hours to recover from.
What the stages mean
Each stage describes how much load Eskom needs to shed nationally, in gigawatts — not how long your own power will be off.
- Stage 1 — 1 000 MW shed. Most areas lose power roughly three times over four days, two hours at a time.
- Stage 2 — 2 000 MW. Roughly twice the frequency of stage 1.
- Stage 3 — 3 000 MW. Around three two-hour slots in a typical day for most schedules.
- Stage 4 — 4 000 MW. Twelve slots over four days, or twice a day in most areas.
- Stage 5 and 6 — 5 000–6 000 MW. Expect three slots a day; some municipalities move to four-hour blocks.
- Stage 7 and 8 — 7 000–8 000 MW. Reserved for severe shortfalls; up to six hours a day off in some areas.
The same national stage produces very different local timetables, because each municipality publishes its own block schedule. Two neighbours on different blocks can be dark at completely different hours under the identical stage.
Where to check your own schedule
Your municipality is the authority for your street, not Eskom. Johannesburg residents supplied by City Power, Cape Town residents supplied by the City of Cape Town, Tshwane, eThekwini and Ekurhuleni all publish separate block schedules. If Eskom supplies you directly, your block is on Eskom's own schedule and is identified by the block number on your bill.
Two practical notes. First, a stage announced for "16:00" usually means the change takes effect at the start of that block, so a shift from stage 4 to stage 6 mid-afternoon can bring forward a cut you thought was hours away. Second, municipalities occasionally hold a higher stage than the national one when they have local network constraints — the national announcement is a floor, not a guarantee.
What is not load shedding
A power cut that hits your street while the national stage is zero — or that lasts far longer than your block's slot — is usually a local network fault: a failed mini-substation, cable theft, or an overloaded transformer after a cut is restored. These are logged with your municipality, not Eskom, and they behave differently: no schedule, no warning, and restoration times measured in hours or days rather than minutes.
Load reduction is a third thing again. It is applied in specific high-density areas where illegal connections overload the network, typically in the early morning and evening peaks, and it happens whether or not the country is load shedding.
Practical preparation
Keep a charged power bank and a torch per person rather than relying on phone torches. Fill a kettle before the block starts. If you run a fridge and a freezer, keep both closed for the duration — a full freezer holds temperature for roughly 24 hours unopened. Gate motors, alarms and fibre routers all need their own battery backup; a small UPS on the router costs less than a generator and keeps a household working. And treat surge protection as essential, not optional: most appliance damage happens at the moment power is restored, not when it goes off.
Common questions
What stage of load shedding are we on today?
Eskom announces the national stage, and it can change several times in a day. The live headlines below carry every announcement as it is made. Your own schedule depends on the stage and your municipal block, so always check your municipality's timetable rather than assuming a national stage means a fixed time.
How long is the power off at each stage?
Roughly two hours per slot in most municipal schedules, but the number of slots changes: about three slots over four days at stage 1, twice a day at stage 4, three times a day at stage 6. Some municipalities switch to four-hour blocks above stage 5.
Why does my neighbour have power when I don't?
Because you are on different blocks. Each municipality divides its area into blocks that rotate on separate timetables, so two adjacent streets can be dark at completely different hours under the same national stage. Blocks follow the electricity network, not suburb boundaries.
Does load shedding damage appliances?
Most damage happens at the moment supply is restored, not when it goes off, because of the surge. Surge protection on fridges, televisions, computers and gate motors is worth more than most people assume. Fibre routers and alarms need their own battery backup to keep working during a slot.
Is load reduction the same as load shedding?
No. Load reduction is applied in specific high-density areas where illegal connections overload the local network, usually during the morning and evening peaks, and it happens whether or not the country is load shedding. A power cut with no national stage in force is usually either load reduction or a local fault.
Live coverage
Every headline below is drawn from South African newsrooms covering Eskom, municipal power supply and water infrastructure, updated continuously.
