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Today Eskom releases its 271st update on the state of the power system. Eskom’s system status bulletin is released twice a week in line with its commitment to regular and transparent communication on the power system, which is expected to be constrained for the foreseeable future.
 
The system is stable but is still expected to be tight over the evening peaks for the next few days. Milder temperatures are forecasted for this week, with a slight drop over the weekend.
 
Eskom calls on all consumers to pull together to help beat the peak over the next few months by using electricity sparingly particularly from 5pm to 9pm. We request all electricity customers to save at least 10% of their electricity usage and sustain these savings. Residential and commercial customers can make the biggest difference by switching off geysers and pool pumps during peak hours (5pm – 9pm); switching off non-essential lights; using space-heating efficiently and responding to the Power Alerts messages.
 
 
Trends in the supply and demand of power in South Africa are as follows:
 
Today (Monday 18 August): The capacity available to meet this evening’s peak demand is 34 800 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 32 902 MW. Current planned maintenance stands at 3 000 MW. Unplanned outages are 5 300 MW.
 
Peak demand and available capacity for the rest of this week is forecast at (please note that these are estimates and will likely differ from the actual figures):
 
Tuesday (19 August): The capacity available to meet tomorrow’s evening peak demand is 34 306 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 32 232 MW.
 
Wednesday (20 August): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 34 148 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 32 017 MW.
 
Thursday (21 August): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 34 148 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 32 022 MW.

The demand in electricity tends to decrease from Friday, going into the weekend. The capacity available from Friday, through to Sunday, is therefore expected to meet forecast demand as follows (please note that these are estimates and will likely differ from the actual figures):
 
Friday (22 August): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 33 223 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 31 016 MW.
 
Saturday (23 August): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 33 348 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 30 644 MW.  
 
Sunday (24 August): The capacity available to meet that evening’s peak demand is 33 348 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 30 853 MW.
 


Yesterday (Sunday 17 August): Peak demand of 30 913 MW met by available capacity of 33 666 MW.
 
Saturday (16 August): Peak demand of 30 905 MW met by available capacity of 33 808 MW.
 
Friday (15 August): Peak demand of 30 582 MW met by available capacity of 33 621 MW.
 
Thursday (14 August): Peak demand of 32 507 MW met by available capacity of 33 547 MW.
 
We urge all South Africans to partner with us to save 10% of their electricity usage especially during peak periods, from 5pm to 9pm.  This will make it significantly easier to manage the power system during this challenging time, while also enabling us to do planned maintenance to ensure the reliability of our plant. For tips on how to trim 10% off your consumption, visit http://www.eskomidm.co.za/residential