State-owned power utility Eskom has warned that it is highly likely that there will be load-shedding this weekend, as, along with its “massive maintenance drive” to improve the performance and reliability of its power generating units ahead of the expected peak winter demand, the cold weather and scattered showers forecasted over the weekend would put pressure on the already vulnerable and constrained power system.

“While there is expected to be sufficient power supply to meet demand for most parts of the day, in winter the load increase could be up to 36 000 MW particularly over the short sharp evening peak between 17:30 and 18:30,” it said in a statement.

This was owing to the increased use of electric heaters, geysers and cooking that takes place between these hours.

Eskom noted that the capacity available to meet Friday’s evening peak demand was 31 032 MW, while demand was forecast at 30 638 MW. For Saturday, it predicted demand of 29 302 MW, and available capacity of 30 274 MW.

For Sunday, the capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand was 28 582 MW, while demand was forecast at 29 169 MW.
About 64% of Eskom’s current installed base-load power stations were past their midlife, requiring longer outages and extended restoration time than planned.

“Midlife refurbishments or replacement being carried timeously reduces equipment failures from occurring, thus improving the ability to provide reliable supply to customers,” Eskom said.