With just over a week remaining in Eskom’s Winter Outlook period, the power system remains well-positioned to maintain stability and reliably meet demand.

In a statement on Friday, the power utility said that unplanned outages reached a notable milestone of 7 265MW, marking the first time the generation fleet has operated below the 8 000MW mark since December 11, 2020.

“This is the first time the generation fleet has operated below the 8 000MW mark since December 11, 2020, highlighting the structural progress in plant performance as a result of the ongoing implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan.

“With just over a week remaining in Eskom’s Winter Outlook period, the power system remains well-positioned to maintain stability and reliably meet demand.”

Eskom’s sustained technical improvements have ensured a reliable power system, meeting more than 97% of electricity demand this winter and financial year to date.

The power utility said South Africa has experienced no load shedding since May 15, with only 26 hours recorded between April 1 and August 21.

Between  August 15 and 21, planned maintenance increased slightly, averaging 5 524MW. During this period, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) fluctuated between 63% and 69%, with the month-to-date average rising to 64.98%.

“This upward trend reflects growing stability and improved reliability across the generation fleet. These figures exclude Kusile Unit 6, which has been contributing 720MW to the national grid since 23 March 2025. Although not yet in commercial operation, the unit is expected to reach that milestone by September 2025.”

To further strengthen grid stability, Eskom is planning to return a total of 4 850MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, August 25, and throughout the coming week.

Between April 1 and August 21, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF), which reflects the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unplanned outages, further decreased to 27.85%. This represents a week-on-week improvement of approximately 0.29%, although it remains about 2.0% higher than the 25.81% recorded during the same period last year.

The open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) load factor further decreased to 0.78% this week from 1.21% the previous week (8–14 August 2025), with OCGTs utilised strategically to address occasional system constraints during morning and evening peak periods.

From April 1 to August 21 diesel spend remains within the allocated budget.

It added that the Winter Outlook, published on May 5, covering the period ending August 31, 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.”

Eskom is scheduled to announce its Summer Outlook in September. –SAnews.gov.za