The South African government announced on August 24 that the country's electricity supply has stabilized. As a result of continuous technical improvements by power utility Eskom, they are supplying over 97% of electricity demand in the 2025 financial year. Unplanned outages reached 7,265 megawatts (MW), falling below 8,000 MW for the first time since December 11, 2020. No load shedding has occurred since May 15, 2025, and blackout hours between April 1 and August 21 were limited to 26 hours.
South Africa experienced severe electricity shortages in 2022-2023, with frequent load shedding becoming a major concern for Japanese companies. However, improvement trends emerged in 2024, and stable supply has been maintained in 2025. To ensure further stability, plans were announced to restore a total of 4,850 MW of generation during the evening peak on August 25 and throughout the following week.
Progress is also being made in energy transition. On August 19, Eskom announced the implementation of its first renewable energy trading program. This is part of the company's strategic goal to promote a competitive future energy industry, aiming for a transition from coal-fired power generation to clean energy toward 2040. Large-scale electricity users such as commercial facilities plan to procure 291 MW of solar power from Eskom-owned renewable energy facilities through long-term Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs). The earliest project is scheduled to begin commercial operation in December 2027.
However, various challenges remain, including delays in electricity market liberalization, aging power plant equipment, corruption within Eskom, and theft of power lines. Attention is focused on whether stable electricity supply will be maintained after the latter half of 2025. South Africa's 2025 financial year runs from April 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.