Optimism remains high for load shedding-free winter
Despite the reintroduction of evening peak load shedding this week, Electricity and Energy Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has expressed confidence in a load shedding-free winter, citing structural improvements and additional generation capacity coming online.
Speaking at a media briefing in Pretoria on Wednesday, Ramokgopa reaffirmed Eskom's Winter 2025 outlook, assuring South Africans that the power utility is entering the colder months on a stronger footing than the previous year.
'We are entering this winter confidently,' he stated.
'Koeberg Unit 2 was synchronised to the grid on 30 December 2024, and Unit 1 is projected to return by July 2025, at the peak of winter.'
Additional support is also coming from Kusile Unit 6, which was added to the grid in March, bringing in around 800MW of capacity. Medupi Unit 4, previously offline, is also expected to contribute to winter generation this year.
'From a structural point of view, we've added approximately 2 500MW to the grid compared to last year,' Ramokgopa said.
'That's why we were bullish and optimistic about the prospects of a load shedding-free winter – or at worst, Stage 2 load shedding.'
Eskom reintroduced stage 2 load shedding during evening peaks this week due to the delayed return of generation units from planned maintenance (3 120MW) and unplanned breakdowns amounting to another 1 385MW.
Total losses breached 13 000MW, the threshold beyond which load shedding becomes unavoidable.
While not due to poor engineering, Ramokgopa acknowledged that mismanagement of scheduling and planning played a role in the lapse.
'We were supposed to taper down planned maintenance significantly, and that has not occurred. That's a planning function, and we have not carried ourselves well in that regard,' the minister said.
Ramokgopa indicated that consequence management may be necessary moving forward.
'There has to be accountability if units are not returned as promised. We've made resources available, and delays affect national reliability,' he stated, noting that 'hard and candid conversations' are being held with Eskom's executive team.
The minister offered a public apology for the current outages but reiterated that the technical state of the grid is not the root cause.
'It's really not about engineering performance. It's how the situation has been managed. We are committed to correcting that,' he assured.
As South Africa heads into winter, Ramokgopa's department remains focused on maintaining system stability, returning key units to service on schedule, and ensuring a more consistent power supply – while learning from the planning failures of recent weeks.
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