Eskom says the power system remains stable even after a sharp rise in evening consumption, with peak demand at times reaching nearly 2 000MW above anticipated levels.
Demand has been rising, driven by seasonal winter conditions in South Africa over the past few weeks.
“The system has remained stable. This has been achieved alongside the natural tapering of solar generation at sunset, demonstrating enhanced operational resilience and improved capacity utilisation across the fleet.
“This performance reflects the sustained impact of the Generation Recovery Plan and reinforces Eskom’s Winter Outlook projection of no loadshedding, supported by continued progress in reliability, disciplined maintenance execution, and cost optimisation,” Eskom said.
Throughout last week, unplanned outages declined to some 11 593MW – a reduction of 964MW compared to the 12 556MW recorded over the same period last year.
“Over the same period, the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor [UCLF], which reflects unplanned outages, was 24.18%, representing a 2.25% reduction compared to the 26.42% recorded during the same period last year, thereby contributing to available capacity.
“During the same period, Eskom’s Planned Capability Loss Factor [PCLF], which reflects planned maintenance, averaged 13.66%. While this is lower than the 14.66% in the previous financial year, it is aligned with Eskom’s efforts to ensure environmental compliance, improve reliability, and support long term sustainability,” the power utility explained.
Furthermore, 980MW is currently in cold reserve due to “excess capacity”.
“Since 16 May 2025, South Africa has recorded 357 consecutive days without interruptions to electricity supply, 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.
“To further ensure a stable electricity supply, Eskom will bring 2 889MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak on Monday,” Eskom said. – SAnews.gov.za
