Load shedding is a controlled process of rotating power cuts used by Eskom, South Africa's national electricity utility, to prevent a total grid collapse when electricity demand exceeds available supply. Specific suburbs are switched off in turns according to a published schedule that rotates through numbered groups.
Stage 4 means Eskom must shed 4,000 MW from the national grid. Most suburban areas experience approximately 8 hours of power cuts per day, typically delivered in 2-hour blocks spread across morning, afternoon, and evening slots depending on your suburb's schedule group.
Type your suburb name into the search box above. Select your area from the dropdown results, and your 7-day schedule will display instantly — showing the actual off-times based on the current Eskom stage.
Eskom can change the stage at any time, day or night, depending on the state of the national grid. Stage changes may happen several times per week during severe grid stress. This tool refreshes the live stage data every 30 minutes from the EskomSePush API.
The national stage is set by Eskom, but the actual off-times depend on your municipality and which schedule group your suburb is assigned to. Some metros like the City of Cape Town manage their own schedules, which can differ from the Eskom national schedule.
Common solutions include UPS systems for critical equipment, generator backup, solar PV with battery storage, and surge-protected switchgear. Market Africa provides IT infrastructure consulting and can help design resilient power and network architectures for your business — contact us for a free assessment.
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