Back to blackouts: Here is Gauteng’s latest load reduction schedule

While South Africa is approaching a year without load shedding, many residents in Gauteng continue to experience regular power interruptions in their daily lives.

As of Tuesday, load shedding remains suspended after the country reached more than 300 consecutive days without it.

However, Eskom’s load reduction programme, a separate infrastructure-driven intervention, continues to roll out across dozens of communities in the province on a rotating basis.

“Load shedding remained suspended after South Africa reached 300 consecutive days without load shedding at midnight on 12 March 2026,” Eskom said.

The power utility was quick to draw the distinction between the two. 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 Orange Farm and its extensions, Monise, Mokoena, Mavimbela and Zuma, Ramakonopi and Ramakonopi East, Radebe and Sali Mngadi, Moseleke, Ndhlazi, Cala and Hlongwane, as well as Mfundo Park Extension 30B.

Other communities in the morning slot include Mapetla, Protea South, Chiawelo, Moroka, Dhlamini, Klipspruit, Kagiso, Khutsong, Tsakane Extensions 1, 3, 8, 11 and 12, and Langaville Extension 3.

Garankuwa extensions, Ivory Park extensions, Protea Glen, Rabie Ridge and Duduza round out the morning-affected areas.

Evening load reduction

The evening window, falling squarely within dinner preparation and homework hours, casts an equally broad shadow.

According to Eskom’s schedule, areas facing power interruptions in the 5pm to 10pm slot include City of Johannesburg Rural Lakeside, Orange Farm extensions, Stretford extensions, Sharpeville and Sharpeville Outlying, Tshepiso, Elandsfontein AH, Homestead Apple Orchards AH-West and Ironside AH-West, as well as Vereeniging.

Further areas on the evening schedule include Drumblade, Klipview, Sebokeng, Vosloorus, Evaton Central, Small Farms and Balmoral Estates.

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 7 to 13 April period: