Energy crisis reduced to stage two
Load shedding has begun in Stanger.
At 2pm today Eskom downgraded the load shedding scheduled from stage three to stage two, casting a glimmer of hope on the energy crisis.
There is still no indication at this point as to which areas in KwaDukuza or Ethekwini will be affected. However according to Stanger residents on the Courier’s BBM network, Glenhils, Stanger, has been without power since 2pm. According to Eskom power will be off in Stanger until 4.30pm.
Also Simbithi residents reported on the Courier Facebook wall that they have been in the dark since 2.30pm.
Eskom declared an emergency at 6am this morning and asked key industrial customers to reduce the load by 10%.
From 8am the company implemented stage three load shedding at numerous municipalities across the province.
The stage three load shedding is the most severe scenario, aimed at reducing demand by up to 4000 MW. Stage two aims to reduce demand by up to 2000 MW.
Load shedding schedules on the Eskom website is applicable only to those customers who buy their electricity directly from Eskom. Customers supplied by their local municipality are referred to that municipality’s website.
Ballito is the only area in KwaDukuza with a load shedding scheduled that currently shows on the Eskom website. According to the schedule, during stage two power could be off from 6pm to 8.30pm every day except Sunday. During stage three load shedding Ballito residents would anticipate blackouts three times a day, for two and a half hours at a time (2am – 4.30am, 10am -12.30pm and 6pm – 8.30pm).
According to the Ethekwini website, if load shedding is implemented in the Tongaat area then it would be between 2pm and 4.30pm on on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; and from 6pm to 8.30pm on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday.
Check out load shedding schedules on the Eskom website here.
The Ethekwini stand-by load shedding schedule here.
Is the power out in your area? Tell us about it here.
