South Africa is facing severe electricity shortages as Eskom, the country’s state-owned power utility, escalated load shedding to stage 6 early Sunday morning, February 23, 2025, following multiple unit trips at Camden Power Station.
The decision to raise load shedding was announced at 1:30 AM and will remain until the situation stabilizes. Eskom began with stage 3 load shedding the previous evening, spurred largely by similar issues at Majuba Power Station and Medupi, which together resulted in 3,864 MW of lost generation capacity. An additional 7,506 MW was attributed to planned maintenance, underscoring the fragility of South Africa’s power supply.
“Eskom regrets to announce stage 6 load shedding was implemented at 1:30 AM due to multiple unit trips at Camden Power Station and will continue until there are sufficient reserves,” spokesperson Daphne Mokwena stated. The increase to stage 6 is the most severe action Eskom has enacted since February 2024, indicating a troubling trend for the country’s electricity infrastructure.
The escalation to stage 6 highlights chronic capacity issues within the power grid. Energy expert Chris Yelland noted on social media, “At about 80%, there is far too much coal-fired power in our mix, which is a big risk to the economy.” The fact we reached this level of load shedding so suddenly, and after initially stable conditions, raises serious questions about the reliability of Eskom’s operations.
According to various reports, the energy utility had recently reassured the public about its generating capability, claiming it had enough reserves to last the week. This message became questionable when, just hours before the load shedding announcement, Eskom recorded around 2,200 MW of unplanned outages. The sudden shift serves as evidence of the system’s vulnerability, which, according to multiple economic analysts, has been stifling South Africa’s growth prospects.
President Cyril Ramaphosa’s ambition to achieve 3% economic growth by 2025 seems increasingly unrealistic without a stable power supply. The Bureau for Economic Research notes the heightened demand from new businesses coming online or existing ones seeking to expand, which the current grid cannot consistently meet.
After enduring more than 20 days without load shedding, South Africans are once again reminded of the precariousness of their electricity supply. The last time stage 6 was implemented, it followed multiple failures and outages concentrated within Eskom’s aging coal-dependent fleet. While those outages saw 13 units go offline, the current crisis parallels past difficulties faced by the utility, inviting skepticism over its claims of improvement.
“Load shedding is largely behind us due to the structural improvements in our generation fleet,” Eskom CEO Dan Marokane asserted during previous briefings. Yet the recent series of breakdowns contradicts this statement and has led many to question if the situation is truly improving or merely on hold.
Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is set to provide updates later on Sunday at 11 AM to shed light on the current state of Eskom’s generation performance and how it will tackle these issues moving forward.
The repeated rounds of load shedding highlight structural weaknesses but also reflect the broader challenges facing South Africa’s energy transition. Analysts have echoed the need for diversification away from coal, urging for renewable energy solutions to alleviate the pressures on the national grid.
Despite Eskom’s attempts to manage these challenges, the unpredictability surrounding coal power generation continues to threaten the stability of electricity supply. Energy policy experts consistently argue for urgent reforms aimed at increasing capacity and enhancing grid resilience as the nation heads toward winter months, typically marked by higher electricity demand for heating and power needs.
The situation is dire, especially for those businesses reliant on consistent energy to operate effectively. The upcoming media briefing by Eskom will likely provide insights not only on operational status but also on potential recovery initiatives aimed at restoring reliability to prevent future outages.
For now, South Africans must brace for the reality of stage 6 load shedding and remain vigilant as the government and Eskom navigate these turbulent waters, aiming to chart a more stable future for the nation’s power supply.