Load shedding returns to South Africa

The South African Photovoltaic Industry Association (SAPVIA) says that despite the return of load shedding over the weekend, the nation is still on track to permanently eliminate power outages.

South Africa experienced load shedding for the first time in more than 10 months over the weekend. State-owned utility Eskom cut up to 3 GW of capacity under “Stage 3” load shedding from 17:00 on Jan. 31 to 06:00 on Feb. 2.

Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane said last week that multiple breakdowns had caused the load shedding, forcing extended repairs and depleting emergency reserves, which then needed replenishment.

Eskom said on the weekend that sufficiency emergency reserves had been reached, bringing an end to the temporary outage. 

Load shedding has plagued South Africa since 2007, driven by electricity demand exceeding supply and worsened by the country’s reliance on coal-fired plants prone to breakdowns and repairs.

This was the first instance since late March 2024, as the country works toward eliminating the outages entirely. Shifting South Africa’s energy mix to include more solar and wind generation is considered a key way of addressing the issue.

SAPVIA CEO Rethabile Melamu told pv magazine in a statement that the load shedding had been a “sad setback.” However, Melamu added that it is important to acknowledge the hard work and collaboration that is going toward preventing further instances.

“The trend lines are moving in the right direction and we are close to seeing an end to load shedding. Our power picture looks a lot better thanks to dedicated action on the part of the Government and other stakeholders,” Melamu said. “I call on all stakeholders and roleplayers to remain committed to finally ending load shedding permanently. We need to fully utilize the contribution that solar solutions can make for our goal of an energy secure future, one that is resilient and growing.”

In January, Melamu told pv magazine that South Africa added around 1.1 GW of solar in 2024, with forecasts predicting that deployment will accelerate over the next couple of years.