CAPE TOWN: South African power utility, Eskom, says there is no pressure on the power grid despite the cold weather in various parts of the country.
The state-owned power company said there are also no concerns of load shedding, as the Minister of Electricity and Energy, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, reassured the nation in Parliament.
Ramokgopa said Eskom aims to complete a full year without load shedding. He noted that the past outages led to business closures and job losses.
Last Friday, Eskom said the power grid remains stable. Evening demand increased with cold temperatures in areas like the Eastern Cape, Western Cape, Northern Cape, Gauteng, and Free State.
SABC News said the power utility has kept unplanned outages below threshold, spending R469.24 million on diesel since 1 April 2026.
“Diesel expenditure is at R469.24 million, far lower than last year’s R2.436 billion. This shows an 80.74% year-on-year reduction,” Eskom said on 8 May.
In addition, they attribute this drastic reduction in diesel spend to operational improvements. For comparison, Eskom spent R1.3 billion on diesel in just the first week of winter 2025 alone.
The Sunninghill-based company Eskom uses open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) to generate electricity using diesel to supplement the grid under pressure from increased demand, but does so sparingly due to the exorbitant cost of diesel compared to coal.
Eskom pays an average of R8,538 to generate one MWh of electricity. This is more than 10 times the cost of coal generation.
Last week, Ramokgopa told Parliament, in response to a question by the DA’s Kevin John Mileham, that Eskom is obliged to burn a minimum amount of diesel supplied by independent power producers (IPPs).
“A key risk is fuel degradation. Diesel cannot be stored indefinitely, as it deteriorates over time and becomes unsafe for turbine use,” the minister said.
Eskom Promises No Load Shedding This Winter
According to Eskom’s 2026 Winter Outlook covering 1 April to 31 August 2026, Eskom projected no load shedding this winter. The company aims to keep unplanned outages below 12,000 MW, and last week (1 May to 7 May 2026), outages averaged 11,593 MW.
“Since 16 May 2025, South Africa has recorded 357 consecutive days—up to 7 May 2026—without interruptions to electricity supply, reflecting system availability of approximately 98.9%,” Eskom said per EWN.
Eskom and the country will mark 365 days without load shedding this week, reaching the milestone on 16 May 2026. Ramokgopa announced that, while not a reason to celebrate, it’s an important achievement reflecting the path towards a stable electricity supply.
Delivering the department’s budget in Parliament on Tuesday, Ramokgopa pledged that by March 2027, all provinces will also have defeated load reduction, owing to demand outstripping municipal supply and infrastructure constraints.
The department will advance the nuclear programme with prudence and discipline. This includes the nuclear industrialisation plan and a 5,200MW build programme. The nuclear fuel cycle strategy will support energy sovereignty. Small modular reactors and the pebble-bed modular reactor will be included, with plans to renew its capability.
Meanwhile, Ramokgopa added that an integrated, national 20-year outlook for the retirement, repowering and repurposing of coal-fired power stations will also be developed. He said the plan aims to include minimal emission standards, compliance, cost recovery and community revitalisation.
“This work will be undertaken with social partners. It will recognise the legitimate concerns of workers, municipalities, local businesses, and communities. It will also ensure coal fleet decisions are aligned with system adequacy and affordability,” he concluded.
