By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
State owned power utility Eskom has announced that stage 3 stage load shedding will be back this week, starting on Monday (27 March).
Stage 1 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 today until 05:00 on Monday.
Thereafter, Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 05:00 until 16:00 on Monday followed by Stage 3 load shedding until 05:00 on Tuesday.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, Stage 1 load shedding will be implemented from 05:00 until 16:00, and Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented from 16:00 until 05:00.
Eskom said it would publish a further update as soon as any significant changes occur.
Despite load shedding being reduced over the past week to lower levels, power cuts are expected to worsen as South Africa moves into the Winter months.
Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that, based on the evidence in front of him, he does not anticipate significantly higher stages of load-shedding during winter this year – but there is no guarantee considering the grid’s fragility.
For access to other load shedding schedules, Eskom has made them available on loadshedding.eskom.co.za.
Smartphone users can also download the app EskomSePush to receive push notifications when load shedding is implemented, as well as the times the area you are in will be off.