There’s a new eThekwini load shedding schedule and interactive map that come into effect on Thursday, 25 May 2023, the municipality has announced.
eThekwini has experienced reduced load shedding since April 2022 following widespread floods that caused damage to the city’s electricity infrastructure. Although the city has not fully repaired all the infrastructure, it has now become “unavoidable” to revert to the normal load shedding schedule.
This means that the municipality’s residents will now experience load shedding from stage 1, not the previous stage 4. However, there will be some exemptions.
“Some areas continue to battle with the damage from the floods and as a result, there are certain substations that cannot be switched off as that would pose a significant risk to residents and infrastructure,” the municipality explained.
New eThekwini load shedding schedule and map
You can download the new eThekwini load shedding schedule here as a PDF document. Alternatively, you can use the municipality’s interactive map to download the specific schedule for your block.
“Please input your address or suburb in the interactive map to determine your block and the individual schedule for your specific block,” eThekwini explained on its Facebook page.
The online map has an address bar where you can enter your physical address. You can also click on your block number directly. In both instances, the map will generate a downloadable PDF schedule for your specified address or block.
It is important to note that region and block numbers have changed. Additionally, blocks are now classified into A and B, such as block 1A and 1B; bock 2A and 2B; and so on. Residential areas and commercial businesses fall under blocks 1 to 16, while the industrial sector falls under block 17. Stages 1 to 6 of load shedding will affect blocks 1 to 16 only, while stage 7 or higher will also affect block 17 and above.
“Residents are urged to switch off all high-load appliances like geysers, stoves, heaters, air conditioners and pool pumps during power outages and stagger switching them on once power returns. This is especially critical in those suburbs that suffer from frequent overload trips on return of power after load shedding. Everyone is urged to reduce power consumption,” the municipality said.