Two Months of No Load Shedding: Eskom’s Surprise Streak Has South Africans Talking

The silence of the generators

In a country where candlelit dinners are often forced rather than romantic, Eskom’s unexpected winning streak has been met with cautious celebration. Since 15 May 2025, South Africa has been free of load shedding, a sentence that hasn’t been uttered this confidently in years.

As of this week, the country has gone more than two months without a single blackout. It’s the kind of news that has South Africans side-eyeing their plugs with suspicion, wondering if the nightmare of rolling blackouts may finally be retreating or just lurking.

G20 pressure, or real progress?

The timing isn’t lost on anyone. With just over 100 days until world leaders descend on Johannesburg for the G20 Summit in November, the government and Eskom are clearly under pressure to avoid a national embarrassment.

But Eskom insists the improvement is not just for show. According to spokesperson Daphne Mokwena, the power system’s performance is being driven by a stronger Energy Availability Factor (EAF) a key metric that measures how much of Eskom’s generation fleet is actually working.

“Fifty-seven percent of our coal stations are now operating above 70% EAF,” Mokwena said, adding that three stations are even surpassing 90%,a rare achievement in Eskom’s recent history. Four other stations are hovering above the 60% mark.

Social media reacts: From disbelief to memes

Online, reactions have ranged from tentative applause to meme-fueled disbelief. “It’s so quiet, I miss the inverter hum,” joked one user on X (formerly Twitter). Another wrote, “Eskom giving us electricity like a toxic ex—just enough to make us stay.”

Some South Africans are worried it’s all smoke and mirrors. “We’ve been here before,” said a Reddit commenter, referring to previous periods of low shedding that quickly gave way to Stage 6 despair. “Let’s wait till the summit ends.”

Monday boost: Over 3 000MW returning

Still, Eskom appears to be building momentum. The utility plans to return 3 075MW of generation capacity to the grid this week, just in time for the evening peak on Monday. That’s the equivalent of nearly three power stations’ worth of electricity.

On top of that, Mokwena said the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF)—which tracks how much generation capacity is lost due to breakdowns, has decreased to 28.58% from over 30% earlier this year. While that’s still high, it’s an improvement.

The official Winter Outlook, published in May, predicts minimal risk of blackouts as long as unplanned outages stay under 13 000MW. Even if that rises to 15 000MW, Eskom says load shedding would be limited to 21 days through to the end of August and only at Stage 2.

A fragile peace

For now, South Africans are basking in the rare luxury of uninterrupted electricity. Geysers are on. Ovens are baking. Hair dryers are humming. But no one’s holding their breath just yet.

The question on everyone’s mind: Is Eskom finally fixing itself or just buying time for the world’s cameras?

Whether this is the start of a comeback story or simply good PR before the G20, one thing is certain: South Africans have never been more grateful for a boring, uneventful power supply.

Let’s hope it lasts.

{Source: The Citizen}

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