Eskom predicts a stable winter electricity supply for Cape Town
Eskom says Western Cape will not face load reduction this winter, with no load shedding anticipated.
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Cape Town could see a more stable electricity supply this winter, with Eskom saying the Western Cape has been fully removed from load reduction schedules.
In its Winter 2026 Outlook, Eskom said it does not anticipate load shedding between April 1 and August 31, citing improved plant performance, fewer breakdowns and a projected surplus of about 6GW during peak demand periods.
“Eskom enters the 2026 winter season with a resilient power system, projecting a winter period of continued energy stability,” the utility said.
Eskom said the improved outlook is driven by a 5.2GW reduction in unplanned losses, supported by 1.1GW from demand-side management.
Eskom has also lowered its base-case assumption for breakdowns to around 12GW, compared to 13GW last winter.
“Even under higher-stress conditions, where unplanned losses approach 14GW, the system is expected to remain resilient, with no load shedding anticipated,” the utility said.
Eskom said the gains come despite rising demand, with more than 67 000 new households connected nationally over the past year.
A further 2 119 households have been supplied through distributed energy resources, helping to ease pressure on the grid.
Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane said: “Eskom, and in turn South Africa, now has a stable electricity platform to operate and grow from.”
Generation executive Bheki Nxumalo said: “It was very difficult to embed cost savings when our generation fleet was unstable. Today, we have dramatically reduced diesel dependency and saved R26.9 billion compared to FY2023.”
Eskom said performance has improved steadily since 2023, with the Energy Availability Factor increasing from 54.55% to about 65.35%, while unplanned outages have dropped from 16.5GW to roughly 9.1GW.
“These improvements supported a period, as of today, of 341 consecutive days without loadshedding,” the utility said.
At community level, Eskom said more than 340 000 customers nationally have already been removed from load reduction schedules, with the Western Cape among the provinces now fully cleared.
The utility is also rolling out more than 600 000 smart meters to improve network visibility and stabilise local electricity systems.
However, Eskom warned that delays in bringing new generation capacity online could threaten supply stability between 2029 and 2030 if not addressed.
Eskom predicts a stable winter electricity supply for Cape Town.