Big turn for load shedding in South Africa  

According to independent energy analyst Pieter Jordaan, the recent suspensions of daytime load shedding in South Africa have had a significant impact on the country’s load shedding trendline.  

The Power Availability Ratio (PAR), which represents the percentage of time consumers have utility power available after deducting load shedding outage times, has shown improvement. Tracking PAR over a moving seven-day period, the ratio climbed to 91% two weeks ago, indicating a faster recovery rate than in previous periods.  

Factors contributing to the improvement include cooler weather, lower demand, improved generation, and reduced cartel criminality at coal-fired plants. However, while the short-term data shows improvement, the longer-term view still indicates a higher level of load shedding compared to the previous year.  

Energy experts caution against complacency and emphasize that load shedding is still in effect, with South Africans having experienced significant blackout hours and the grid remaining under strain. Eskom urges people to use power sparingly. 

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