South Africa's electricity mix in May 2022
In May 2022 South Africa's grid generated 19 731.5 GWh, of which coal supplied 80.8%. Demand averaged 26 270 MW and peaked at 33 532 MW on 31 May 2022.
Where the electricity came from
| Source | GWh | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 15 946.2 | 80.8% |
| Imports | 924.2 | 4.7% |
| Nuclear | 678.8 | 3.4% |
| Wind | 653.9 | 3.3% |
| Pumped storage | 395.0 | 2.0% |
| Solar PV | 355.0 | 1.8% |
| Hydro | 343.1 | 1.7% |
| Diesel peakers | 332.8 | 1.7% |
| Concentrated solar | 83.4 | 0.4% |
| Other renewables | 19.0 | 0.1% |
| Gas | 0.1 | 0.0% |
| Total supply | 19 731.5 | 100% |
Load shedding in May 2022
Eskom shed 319 GWh of demand across 220 hours, affecting 26 of the 31 days in the month. The heaviest single day was 21 May 2022, when 34.9 GWh was shed. Separately, contracted industrial customers on interruptible supply were curtailed by 8.0 GWh. That is demand management, not load shedding.
How this month compared
Carbon intensity averaged 854 grams of CO₂ per kilowatt-hour, against a world average of 458 g/kWh in 2025 and an Africa average of about 530 g/kWh. Renewables (wind, solar PV, CSP and other renewables reporting to Eskom) supplied 5.6% of generation.
Figures are calculated from Eskom's published hourly data. Rooftop solar sits behind the meter and is not included.