GridPulse ZA

South Africa's electricity, hour by hour

Live mix › Data › October 2023

South Africa's electricity mix in October 2023

In October 2023 South Africa's grid generated 18 893.7 GWh, of which coal supplied 78.7%. Demand averaged 25 200 MW and peaked at 31 940 MW on 31 October 2023.

Total generated18 893.7GWh
Peak demand31 940MW
Renewables share8.9%
Carbon intensity834g/kWh
Unplanned outages13 906MW avg
Load shedding316GWh

Where the electricity came from

Generation by source, October 2023
SourceGWhShare
Coal14 870.178.7%
Wind1 063.15.6%
Imports788.34.2%
Nuclear668.03.5%
Solar PV488.02.6%
Pumped storage416.82.2%
Diesel peakers359.81.9%
Concentrated solar137.40.7%
Hydro84.20.4%
Other renewables16.40.1%
Gas1.50.0%
Total supply18 893.7100%

Load shedding in October 2023

Eskom shed 316 GWh of demand across 259 hours, affecting 20 of the 31 days in the month. The heaviest single day was 31 October 2023, when 33.8 GWh was shed. Separately, contracted industrial customers on interruptible supply were curtailed by 4.1 GWh. That is demand management, not load shedding.

How this month compared

Carbon intensity averaged 834 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 8.9% of generation.

Figures are calculated from Eskom's published hourly data. Rooftop solar sits behind the meter and is not included.

See the live mix on GridPulse ZA