Eskom on Loadshedding - How do these schedules and stages work?

 
When Eskom declares a system emergency, the system is in a critical state and, unless enough load is reduced voluntarily, loadshedding will start. Eskom determines the Stage at which loadshedding needs to be applied depending on the generation capacity shortfall in the country at that particular time.
The schedules are a predetermined set of schedules (including a 30 minute overlap time to allow for switching) that gives the time when we will cut off each area if loadshedding is necessary. When we need load shedding, we try to stick to these schedules, so that customers know what to expect if shedding starts.
There are three loadshedding stages, depending on how big a problem (i.e. the extent of the shortfall in generation capacity in the country) there is on the national power system: Stage 1: Generation shortfall of up to 1 000 MW
Stage 2: Generation shortfall of up to 2 000 MW
Stage 3: Generation shortfall of up to 4 000 MW
We refine these schedules from time to time, so please always look at the latest schedules on this website page.

4. What is the difference between loadshedding and saving electricity?

Loadshedding is aimed at removing load from the power system when there is an imbalance between the electricity generation capacity available and the demand for electricity. If we did not shed load, then the whole national power system would switch off and no one would have electricity. Loadshedding is therefore done to protect the national power system from collapsing.  
Saving electricity (by using energy-efficient appliances, switching off equipment when not in use, using alternative sources of energy such as solar geysers) has benefits such as reduced cost, less pollution, the better use of natural resources (coal, water and fuel) and less wear and tear on the power stations, transmission and distribution systems – and it saves customers money. In these times of capacity constraints, saving electricity also means that the load on the national power system is reduced. This helps to stabilise the balance between the available generation and the demand, in this way reducing the risk of loadshedding.