Stage 3 Load Shedding Returns to South Africa as Eskom Battles Power Station Challenges

South Africans are bracing for another round of power cuts as Eskom announced the implementation of Stage 3 load shedding from 14h00 on Friday, 7 March, until 05h00 on Monday, 10 March. The state-owned utility cited challenges at its nuclear and coal-fired power stations as the primary reason for the return of load shedding after nearly a year of stable electricity supply.

What’s Behind the Load Shedding?
Eskom reported a loss of 2,700MW over the past 14 hours, triggered by issues at key power stations:

• Koeberg Unit 2: Taken offline shortly after being brought back online on Wednesday.
• Kusile Units: Coal operations were disrupted due to adverse weather conditions, reducing output.

The utility is also conducting high levels of planned maintenance to prepare for winter and meet regulatory requirements. This maintenance, combined with the unexpected outages, has strained the power grid, necessitating the use of emergency reserves.

“The constrained capacity resulted in the increased reliance on emergency reserves during this week, which makes it necessary to focus on replenishing these critical resources over the weekend,” Eskom stated.

Cape Town’s Reduced Load Shedding
Thanks to reserves at the Steenbras Hydro Pumped Storage Scheme, Cape Town residents will experience reduced load shedding during certain periods. On Friday and Saturday, the city will implement Stage 1 load shedding instead of Stage 3 during specific times.

Eskom’s Recovery Plan
Eskom CEO Dan Marokane emphasized that the utility remains committed to its generation recovery plan, which aims to end load shedding permanently. “Load shedding is a painful reminder of the past, and situations such as this drive our resolve to double down and stay the course to end load shedding,” he said.

The utility expects to restore 6,200MW of capacity by Monday evening, with three units currently on long-term outages set to return to service next week, adding 2,500MW to the grid.

A Temporary Setback
Eskom’s Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo, reassured South Africans that the current load shedding is a temporary setback. “We reiterate our commitment to ensuring that South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of load shedding that we experienced in 2023,” he said.

The utility’s Summer Outlook, published in August 2024, remains unchanged, with Eskom confident that structural improvements in the generation fleet will reduce the risk of future power cuts.

Load Shedding Schedule
While most of the country will experience Stage 3 load shedding throughout the weekend, Cape Town’s schedule is as follows:

Friday, 7 March 2025

• Stage 1: 14:00 to 22:00
• Stage 3: 22:00 to 23:59

Saturday, 8 March 2025

• Stage 3: 00:00 to 06:00
• Stage 1: 06:00 to 12:00
• Stage 3: 12:00 to 23:59

Sunday, 9 March 2025

• Stage 3: 00:00 to 23:59

Monday, 10 March 2025

• Stage 3: 00:00 to 05:00

Conclusion
The return of Stage 3 load shedding is a stark reminder of the challenges facing South Africa’s energy sector. While Eskom works to address the issues at its power stations and replenish emergency reserves, South Africans must once again adapt to rotating power cuts.

However, Eskom remains optimistic about its recovery plan and the long-term stability of the grid. As the utility focuses on intensive maintenance and restoring capacity, the hope is that load shedding will soon be a thing of the past.

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