Monday, 23 June 2014: Today Eskom releases its 255th 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 very tight tonight over the evening peak, and is expected to remain tight over the evening peaks (5pm to 9pm) for the rest of the week due to higher demand with the colder weather conditions.

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 23 June): The capacity available to meet this evening’s peak demand is 35 191 MW (including open cycle gas turbines) while demand is forecast 35 244 MW. Current planned maintenance stands at 2 685 MW. Unplanned outages are 5 250 MW.

Yesterday (Sunday 22 June): Peak demand of 33 071 MW met by available capacity of 34 911 MW.

Saturday (21 June):  Peak demand of 33 168 MW met by available capacity of 35 323 MW.

Friday (20 June):  Peak demand of 33 801 MW met by available capacity of 34 473 MW.

Thursday (19 June): Peak demand of 34 630 MW met by available capacity of 34 491 MW.

Peak demand for the rest of this week is forecast at: 34 824 MW on Tuesday, 34 768 MW on Wednesday, 34 896 MW on Thursday, 33 274 MW on Friday, 32 962 MW on Saturday and 32 732 MW on Sunday.

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