As of Monday, South Africans celebrate approximately 331 days without load shedding. This comes as Eskom recently announced that the country’s energy availability factor (EAF) sits above 65%.
However, for many Gauteng residents, power cuts remain part of daily life.
Eskom continues to implement its load reduction programme, affecting dozens of communities across the province on a rotating basis.
The power utility previously defined the distinction between the two.
It said unlike load shedding, which is a national demand-management measure triggered by insufficient generation capacity, load reduction targets specific communities where illegal connections and ageing infrastructure place localised networks under sustained pressure.
“The load reduction outages follow a rotating schedule that varies by area,” Eskom said.
The utility noted that some areas will face outages of up to four hours, while others could experience interruptions of up to five hours.
Morning load reduction
Eskom’s latest schedule shows that several regions across Gauteng will be without power during the early morning window throughout the week, coinciding with the school run and morning commute.
Among the areas facing morning cuts are Moroka, Dhlamini, Tsakane and its extensions, GaRankuwa, Winterveldt, and Tlhabologo.
Other communities in the morning slot include Mabopane, Tsebe, Odinburg Gardens, Klippan, Kagiso, and Protea City.
Evening load reduction
The evening window, falling squarely during dinner preparation and homework hours, carries an equally broad footprint.
According to Eskom’s schedule, areas facing power interruptions in the 5pm to 10pm slot include Diepkloof zones 1 to 6, Spruit View, Orlando East, Tshepiso, Chiawelo and Diepsloot.
Further areas on the evening schedule include Cosmo City, South Roodepoort, Zandespruit, Nomzamo, Langaville and City of Johannesburg Lakeside.
Additional areas affected this week
Beyond the two main daily windows, Eskom’s schedule also confirms that the following areas will be affected by load reduction during the 13 April to 20 April period:
- Koi Koi;
- Rabie Ridge;
- Naledi;
- Meadowlands;
- Westonaria;
- Moletsane;
- Khutsong;
- Jabavu and its extensions;
- Hillsview-East;
- Dobsonville; and
- Emdeni.
To see if your area is affected, click on or download the document below:
