Grid ‘stable but constrained’ – Eskom
The power utility says it plans to return a total of 2 550MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday.
This comes as the weather service issued several warnings for cold weather conditions across the country, which is expected to increase electricity demands as residents try to keep warm.
READ: Severe winter storm to hit SA with snow, cold winds
“While system constraints are occasionally experienced, adequate emergency reserves are in place and are being strategically deployed to support demand during the morning and evening peak periods, particularly as the country prepares for a forecasted cold spell in the coming week,” says Eskom spokesperson Daphney Mokoena.
She says Eskom is making steady progress as we move beyond the peak maintenance season, with the Planned Capability Loss Factor having decreased from last week’s average of ~4 883MW to this week’s (30 May to 5 June) average of ~4 035MW.
“As a result, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has been recovering as expected, now fluctuating between 61% and 64% since Monday. Month-to-date, the EAF stands at 60.42%, reflecting the successful return of additional generation units from planned maintenance,” adds Mokoena.
Eskom maintains the Winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, which covers the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid.
The report indicates that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. However, if outages rise to 15 000MW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2.
Stage 2 load shedding was last implemented in mid-May.
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