While South Africa marks 360 consecutive days without load shedding, Eskom’s load reduction programme continues to disrupt power supply for thousands of Gauteng residents daily.
Eskom continues to implement its load reduction programme across dozens of communities in the province on a rotating basis.
Unlike load shedding, 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, depending on the area, outages can last anywhere between four and five hours per slot.
Morning cuts
Despite the positive national outlook, Eskom’s load reduction schedule shows that several Gauteng communities will be without power during the early morning window.
This window runs from 5am to 9am on a rotating basis throughout the week of 11 to 18 May 2026.
Communities facing morning outages this week include Moroka, Dhlamini, Tsakane and its extensions, GaRankuwa, Winterveldt, among others.
Block I areas are affected on Tuesday, while Block J communities face morning cuts on Thursday, Friday and Monday.
Block A areas, including Ivory Park, Kaalfontein, Rabie Ridge and Protea Glen, are scheduled for morning outages on both Friday and Sunday.
On Monday, 11 May, Block E areas, including Mapetla, Protea South, Chiawelo, Protea North, Soshanguve South, Mabopane Unit V and Admin, are affected during the morning slot.
On Tuesday, Block A areas such as Ivory Park extensions, Kaalfontein, Rabie Ridge, Protea Glen and its extensions, are scheduled for morning cuts, with Block J also affected that day.
Evening load reduction
The evening window carries an equally broad reach across the province.
Areas in the 5pm to 10pm slot include Diepkloof zones 1 to 6, Spruit View, Orlando East, Tshepiso, Chiawelo, Diepsloot, Cosmo City, and City of Johannesburg Lakeside.
On Monday, 11 May, Block F areas, which cover Evaton North, Evaton West, Evaton Central and Unit 3, Lakeside, Vereeniging Stretford, and Roodepoort, are scheduled for evening outages.
Eskom confirmed that “the load reduction outages follow a rotating schedule that varies by area,” meaning no single community bears the burden every day.
Thursday evening’s rotation affects Block G communities across a wide stretch, covering Tsakane, Mabopane, Tsebe, and Mathibestad, among others.
On Sunday evening, Block H areas are affected, including Vereeniging, Sharpeville, Beverley Hills-East, Boitumelo, Evaton, Westside Park, Daveyton extensions and Etwatwa.
Saturday’s evening slot affects Block E communities, including Mapetla, Protea South, Chiawelo, Protea North, Nooitgedacht, Makapanstad, and Stinkwater.
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 this week:
- Koi Koi,
- Rabie Ridge,
- Naledi,
- Meadowlands,
- Westonaria,
- Moletsane,
- Khutsong,
- Jabavu and its extensions,
- Hillsview-East,
- Dobsonville and
- Emdeni
Eskom has maintained that the programme is not permanent and is linked to addressing infrastructure challenges in affected communities.
To see if your area is affected, click on or download the document below:
360 days without load shedding
At a national level, the electricity system is performing at levels not seen in years.
As of Monday, 11 May 2026, South Africa has recorded 360 consecutive days without interruptions to electricity supply since 16 May 2025, reflecting system availability of approximately 98.9%.
“During the previous financial year, supply interruptions were limited to 26 hours across four days in April and May 2025.
“Notably, there have been no interruptions in the current financial year to date (from 1 April to date), underscoring the improved strength and reliability of the power system,” Eskom said on Friday, 08 May.
The system’s resilience was tested when demand surged sharply due to seasonal conditions.
Eskom said peak demand at times reached nearly 2 000MW above anticipated levels, driven in part by a rise in evening consumption as temperatures dropped and solar generation tapered off at sunset.
“This has been achieved alongside the natural tapering of solar generation at sunset, demonstrating enhanced operational resilience and improved capacity utilisation across the fleet,” the utility said.
Looking ahead, Eskom published its Winter Outlook on 22 April 2026, covering the period 1 April to 31 August 2026. The outlook projects no load shedding over the winter period.
“To further ensure a stable electricity supply, Eskom will bring 2 889MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 11 May 2026.”
