Eskom hoards power

13 675MW DUE TO EXCESS: NEARLY THREE MEDUPIS IN COLD RESERVE → Supply, demand mean the utility has far too much capacity.

- Hilton Tarrant

BIG CAPACITY. The giant Medupi Power Station near Lephalale in Limpopo. Picture: AdobeStock

(AdobeStock)

Eskom says it has effectively switched off 13 675MW of generating capacity “due to excess capacity and lower demand during the holiday season”.

This capacity, primarily comprising coal power stations, is available to the grid but is not currently operating. To get this started and brought back online will typically take hours. The amount of capacity in cold reserve is equivalent to nearly three Medupi power stations, which has a nameplate capacity of 4 800MW.

While the stunning turnaround in the generation performance over the last 18 months remains remarkable, that it is able to remove this amount of capacity from the system temporarily is both a demand and supply story.

On Friday, it said the evening peak demand would be 19 545MW - a nearly 4 500MW reduction from the same Friday a year ago.