- Eskom reports that the power system continues to operate reliably, showing ongoing resilience in meeting winter electricity demand.
- With 44 days of Eskom’s winter outlook period still remaining, the system remains well-positioned to maintain stability and meet demand effectively says Eskom.
- When occasional system constraints arise, they are effectively managed through the strategic deployment of emergency reserves during morning and evening peak periods.
As of today, unplanned outages have reduced to 10 846MW, while available generation capacity is 31 818MW. Tonight’s electricity demand is expected to reach 28 215MW. The current capacity is sufficient to meet both today’s demand and anticipated requirements over the weekend.
During the week of 11 to 17 July 2025, planned maintenance averaged 4 467MW. Over the same period, the EAF ranged between 60% and 65%, with the month-to-date average further increasing to 62.31%.
To further strengthen grid stability, Eskom is planning to return a total of 3 330MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 21 July 2025, and throughout the coming week.
Between 1 April and 17 July 2025, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF), which indicates the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unexpected outages, stood at 29.53%. This is about 2.6% higher than the 26.95% recorded during the same period last year. As of today, the UCLF is at 23.35%, reflecting improved performance.
The open-cycle gas turbine (OCGT) load factor decreased this week, reaching 8.60%, down from the 11.92% recorded during the previous week (4 to 10 July 2025). This indicates less reliance on OCGTs.
Key Performance Highlights:
- For the week of 11 to 17 July 2025, unplanned outages averaged 13 051MW—a decrease from the previous week, but 559MW higher than the same period last year and 51MW above the base case estimate of 13 000MW.
- For the financial year-to-date, planned maintenance has averaged at 5 229MW, representing 11.13% of total generation capacity. This reflects a decrease from the previous week, but a 0.8% increase compared to the same period last year.
- The year-to-date Energy Availability Factor (EAF) stands at 59.06%, excluding the 720 MW contribution from Kusile Unit 6, which has been supplying electricity to the national grid since 23 March 2025, although not yet in commercial operation. This figure remains below the 61.97% recorded during the same period last year, mainly due to a 2.9% increase in unplanned maintenance compared to the previous year.
- Between 1 April and 17 July 2025, which falls within the winter period, Eskom spent R5.897 billion on fuel for its OCGT plants, generating 941.75 GWh of electricity. This is less than the R11.432 billion spent to produce 1 897.81GWh in FY24, when loadshedding occurred daily, compared to just 26 hours so far in FY26. However, this year’s output is still higher than the 491.29GWh generated during the same timeframe last year.
- The year-to-date load factor for OCGTs has marginally decreased to 10.64%, reflecting a 0.14% decrease compared to the previous week. This figure remains higher than the 5.55% recorded during the same period last year.
Link to Eskom’s real time performance data portal HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
