South Africa’s state utility, Eskom, announced on Friday that it expects no planned power cuts over the upcoming southern hemisphere summer, running from September 2025 through March 2026, provided there is no significant rise in unplanned breakdowns at its facilities.
The utility has long struggled to supply consistent electricity to Africa’s largest economy, with frequent outages suppressing growth for over a decade.
However, a recent turnaround in performance at its power plants helped reduce load-shedding days to 13 last summer, compared with 176 the previous year.
Eskom executives expressed confidence that improvements would allow for uninterrupted power during the summer months.
Chief Executive Officer Dan Marokane highlighted that the utility now has sufficient operational headroom to carry out maintenance, a situation that was not possible in previous years.
He emphasized that as long as unplanned electricity losses remain below 15,000 megawatts (MW), power cuts are unlikely.
Recent figures support this optimism. In August, unplanned electricity losses dropped to roughly 10,000 MW, significantly lower than in prior years when daily load-shedding became a common reality for South Africans.
Eskom operates a diverse portfolio of power generation assets, including coal-fired plants with a combined nominal capacity of about 46,000 MW, a nuclear station, and smaller plants powered by diesel or hydropower.
Executives are hopeful that the combination of reduced unplanned outages and better plant performance will allow the country to enjoy a summer with reliable electricity supply.