Eskom has confirmed that the electricity system remains stable going into the weekend, with efforts underway to increase available power for the coming week.
Eskom’s latest state of the power system
In its latest Power Alert issued on Friday, 20 June 2025, the power utility said that although electricity demand remains high, emergency reserves are holding and more power is expected to be added soon.
This means the chance of loadshedding — planned electricity cuts to prevent a total system failure — remains low for now.
According to Eskom, the national electricity grid is currently coping well, even during peak hours when demand typically surges — in the mornings and evenings. To boost this further, Eskom is working to return 2 730 megawatts (MW) of electricity to the system by Monday evening, 23 June.
This extra power should help meet the country’s high winter energy needs.
During the past week (13–19 June), Eskom carried out scheduled maintenance on about 3 659MW of its power plants.
The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) — a measure of how much of Eskom’s power is ready and working — stayed between 60% and 63%, averaging 60.48% for the month. While this figure reflects ongoing strain, it indicates steady progress.
One concern is the number of unplanned breakdowns, known as the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), which currently sits at 29.23% for the financial year.
This is higher than last year’s 27.51%, partly due to delays in bringing major units like Medupi Unit 4 (800MW) back online.
At present, 12 892MW is lost due to unplanned issues, but with 31 681MW available — not counting the 720MW still in testing — Eskom says it can meet peak demand, which is expected to reach 28 425MW.
How likely is loadshedding? – Here’s what Eskom forecasted
Eskom’s Winter Outlook, which runs until the end of August, says loadshedding will not be necessary if breakdowns remain under 13 000MW. However, if outages rise to 15 000MW, the country could face up to 21 days of Stage 2 loadshedding out of the remaining 153 winter days.
So far, the average for unplanned outages is 13 966MW — just below the danger level. Eskom noted a recent spike due to ongoing repairs at both Medupi and Tutuka power stations.
Diesel usage for emergency power has been high this year, with Eskom spending R4.51 billion so far. However, as more units return from maintenance, diesel usage — and costs — are expected to drop.
Eskom also warned about illegal electricity connections. These put pressure on transformers and lead to breakdowns and power cuts. People are urged to buy electricity only from approved vendors and report any illegal activity to Eskom.
The utility will issue another update on Friday, 27 June 2025, or earlier if anything changes significantly.
