Power system under pressure but stable, despite cold front

Eskom says the power system remains stable and continues to demonstrate resilience despite the cold front sweeping across the country.

The South African Weather Service (Saws) issued two orange and six yellow level warnings for several parts of the country, with warnings of very cold, wet and windy conditions, including snow for several parts of the country.

Load shedding

The cold weather is expected to force residents to use their heating appliances in abundance to keep warm, putting pressure on the electricity grid.

However, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said there are no plans for load shedding.

“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”.

ALSO READ: Snow, disruptive rain and severe thunderstorms to sweep across country

Winter outlook

Mokwena said Eskom’s winter Outlook, published on 5 May 2025, covering the period ending 31 August 2025, remains valid.

“It indicates that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13 000MW. 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”.

“While load shedding remains suspended and electricity demand continues to rise during the winter period, Eskom urges the public to avoid illegal connections and energy theft. These activities often lead to transformer overloads, equipment failures, and in some cases, explosions and extended outages, prompting the need for load reduction to protect the network,” Mokwena said.

Maintenance

Mokwena said Eskom is making steady progress as it moves beyond the peak maintenance season, with the  Planned Capability Loss Factor (PCLF) having decreased from an average of 4 883MW  to 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”.

Diesel usage

Mokwena said the Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) load factor decreased to 6.31% this week, compared to  12.70% in the previous week (23 to 29 May 2025).

“This decline indicates reduced reliance on diesel”.

Mokwena said diesel usage is expected to decline further as more units return from long-term repairs and maintenance activities are reduced, increasing available generation capacity.

NOW READ: Eskom winter outlook: Here’s how many days of load shedding to expect in SA