Eskom said the power system remains stable, allowing for continued suspension of loadshedding.
In addition, approximately 2,600 Megawatts (MW) have returned to the system, ahead of Monday evening’s peak.
Eskom’s Daphne Mokwena, said about 2,650MW of generation capacity is necessary to stabilise the grid.
The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), which measures unplanned outages, is at 28.30% for the financial year-to-date (1 April to 15 May 2025).
Loadshedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13,000MW. If outages rise to 15,000MW, loadshedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2.
Unplanned outages increased to 14,310MW on Friday, up from 11,670MW recorded last week.
The available generation capacity is currently 28,548MW (excluding 720MW from Kusile Unit 6), while Friday’s peak demand was projected at 28,523MW.
The year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) is at 56.97%, compared to last year’s 59.98%. Eskom attributes the decline to a 3.1% increase in planned maintenance, compared to the previous year and excludes 720MW from Kusile Unit 6, which is not yet in commercial operation.
The Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) load factor increased to 10.94% this week, compared to 3.87% in the previous week (2 to 8 May 2025).
Picture: Fidelity ADT