South Africa has gone 392 consecutive days without load shedding as of 1 June 2026, with Eskom crediting sustained plant improvements and operational discipline.
However, thousands of households in Gauteng continue to face daily power cuts under the utility’s load reduction programme.
A milestone under pressure
Eskom confirmed last Friday that the streak, which began on 16 May 2025, reflects what it describes as a fundamentally stronger and more reliable system.
The utility pointed to significant gains in plant performance as the primary driver of this stability.
“System performance remains strong, with the financial year-to-date Energy Availability Factor improving to 62.59%, up from 57.43% over the same period last year, a 5.17% increase,” Eskom said.
The utility added that this represents a 9.97% improvement over the same period three years ago, at the outset of the Generation Recovery Plan.
Unplanned outages, long the central cause of load shedding, have also declined sharply. Between 22 and 28 May 2026, average unplanned outages dropped to 10 378MW, down 3 658MW from the 14 037MW recorded over the same period last year, and have since improved further to as low as 7 937MW.
“This trend is reflected in the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor, which improved to 21.94% from 29.57% in the corresponding period last year, reflecting a 7.63% reduction,” Eskom said.
Winter demand rises, but the grid holds
South Africa has entered its winter peak demand season, traditionally the most demanding period for the power grid.
Eskom said it is continuing to make steady progress in strengthening power system stability “as seasonal temperatures decline and electricity demand rises, safeguarding supply for all customers, including those reliant on rooftop solar when it is not available.”
To manage the elevated winter demand on Monday evening, Eskom confirmed it would bring 1 010MW of additional generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak.
The utility forecast Monday’s evening peak demand at 26 642MW, against 31 868MW of available capacity.
Looking ahead, Eskom said its Winter Outlook, published on 22 April 2026 and covering the period 1 April to 31 August 2026, “projects no load shedding due to sustained improvements in plant performance from the Generation Recovery Plan.”
These gains, Eskom noted, are being driven by “sustained improvements in plant performance, reliability, and operational discipline.”
Eskom’s efforts to eliminate load reduction
Despite the national milestone, load reduction continues to affect thousands of Gauteng households daily.
Unlike load shedding, load reduction is not a national intervention; it targets specific communities where illegal connections and ageing infrastructure are placing localised networks under sustained pressure, with outages lasting between four and five hours per slot across two daily windows: 5am to 9am and 5pm to 10pm.
Eskom said it has made meaningful inroads into the problem nationally, having “eliminated load reduction for 651 828 households in affected communities nationwide, restoring continuous electricity supply.”
Full elimination has been achieved in the Northern and Western Cape, the utility confirmed, though work continues to address underlying localised network constraints elsewhere.
“The load reduction outages follow a rotating schedule that varies by area,” Eskom said, adding that the programme is not permanent and is directly linked to resolving infrastructure challenges in the affected communities.
Monday, 1 June: Block J and Block I in the morning, Block E in the evening
The week opens with Blocks J and I facing the morning outage window from 5am to 9am.
Block J communities affected include Orange Farm and Orange Farm Ext 1, 2, 3, 4 and 8, Stretford Ext 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, Sharpeville and Sharpeville Outlying, Sebokeng Unit 1, 7, 8 and 12, and Zonkizizwe, Katlehong South and Moleleki.
Block I communities losing power in the same slot include Monise, Mokoena, Mavimbela, Vosloorus A and Vosloorus B, and Spruit View Ext 1A, among others.
The evening slot from 5pm to 10pm on Monday hits Block E, with areas including Mapetla, Protea South, Chiawelo, Protea North, and Nooitgedacht affected.
Tuesday, 2 June: Block D in the morning, Block C in the evening
Tuesday’s morning slot from 5am to 9am falls on Block D, with Rethabiseng, Kudube, Moroka, Dhlamini and Klipspruit, and Kagiso among those losing power.
The 5pm to 10pm evening window moves to Block C, where Dobsonville, Dobsonville Ext 5 and 7, Naledi, Mabopane C, E, U, W, V, and X, Jabulani, Moletsane and Tladi, and Tsakane and Tsakane Ext 15 and 18 are scheduled for cuts.
Wednesday, 3 June: Block A in the morning, Blocks B and J in the evening
Wednesday brings Block A communities morning outages from 5am to 9am, with Ivory Park Ext 8 and Ext 10, Kaalfontein Ext 1, 2 and 5, Rabie Ridge, Protea Glen Outlying and Protea South Outlying, and Rietvallei Outlying affected.
Two blocks share the evening window from 5pm to 10pm.
Block B areas losing power include Dube and Dube Ext 1, Mofolo East, West and South, Meadowlands Zone 6, 7 and 8, Hillsview-East, and Cosmo City Ext 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10.
Block J communities, including Orange Farm Ext 7-East, Stretford Ext 2 through 10, Sebokeng units 1, 7, 8, and 12, and Zonkizizwe, Katlehong South, and Moleleki, face the same evening slot.
Thursday, 4 June: Block C in the morning, Block D in the evening
Block C bears Thursday’s morning outages from 5am to 9am, with Dobsonville and Dobsonville Ext 5 and 7, Mabopane C, E, U, W, V and X, Winterveldt Ward 2 and 13, Emdeni and Emdeni Ext 2, and Tsakane and Tsakane Ext 15 and 18 affected.
Thursday’s evening slot from 5pm to 10pm moves to Block D communities, including Rethabiseng, Kudube, Moroka, Dhlamini, Klipspruit, and Khutsong.
Friday, 5 June: Block G in the morning, Block H in the evening
Friday’s early morning window from 5am to 9am falls on Block G, with Tsakane Ext 5 and Tsakane Ext 11, Klippan, Mabopane Part 19 SP, Garankuwa, and Ga-Rankuwa and Ga-Rankuwa Unit 2 and Unit 6 facing cuts.
Block H communities face the 5pm to 10pm evening slot on Friday.
Areas including Vereeniging, Sharpeville, Sebokeng Unit 3, 7, 12, 13, 14, 16, 17 and 19, Westside Park-West, Beverley Hills-East, Boitumelo, and Breswol AH and Emaphopheni Ext 36 are scheduled for cuts.
Saturday, 6 June: Block E in the morning, Block F in the evening
Saturday’s morning slot from 5am to 9am returns to Block E, with Mapetla, Protea South, Chiawelo, Protea North, Makapanstad and Stinkwater affected.
The evening window from 5pm to 10pm on Saturday moves to Block F, covering Cuba, Graceland, Havana, Jetta, Diepkloof, Diepkloof Zone 1, 2, and Zone 6, Orlando East, and Spruit View and Spruit View B.
Sunday, 7 June: Block A in the morning, Blocks B and J in the evening
The final day of the week brings morning outages back to Block A from 5am to 9am, with Ivory Park Ext 8 and Ext 10, Kaalfontein Ext 1, 2 and 5, Rabie Ridge, Duduza, and Protea Glen and its various extensions affected.
Sunday evening window from 5pm to 10pm is shared between Block B and Block J.
Under Block B, the affected areas include Dube and Dube Ext 1, Mofolo East, West, and South, Meadowlands Zone 6, 7, and 8, Riverside, and Diepsloot West Ext 1, 2, and 3.
Meanwhile, Block J communities, including Orange Farm Ext 7-East, Stretford Ext 2 through 10, Eikenhof, Lakeside Ext 5, Sebokeng Unit 1, 7, 8, and 12, and Zonkizizwe, Katlehong South, and Moleleki, will also be affected.
To see if your area is affected, click on or download the document below:
