South Africa's electricity mix in May 2025
In May 2025 South Africa's grid generated 19 016.9 GWh, of which coal supplied 80.5%. Demand averaged 24 935 MW and peaked at 31 825 MW on 28 May 2025.
Where the electricity came from
| Source | GWh | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 15 305.0 | 80.5% |
| Wind | 976.2 | 5.1% |
| Nuclear | 703.6 | 3.7% |
| Imports | 638.3 | 3.4% |
| Pumped storage | 392.9 | 2.1% |
| Solar PV | 373.6 | 2.0% |
| Diesel peakers | 283.1 | 1.5% |
| Hydro | 251.9 | 1.3% |
| Concentrated solar | 81.4 | 0.4% |
| Other renewables | 9.9 | 0.1% |
| Gas | 1.0 | 0.0% |
| Total supply | 19 016.9 | 100% |
Load shedding in May 2025
Eskom shed 28 GWh of demand across 18 hours, affecting 3 of the 31 days in the month. The heaviest single day was 13 May 2025, when 9.9 GWh was shed. Separately, contracted industrial customers on interruptible supply were curtailed by 6.7 GWh. That is demand management, not load shedding.
How this month compared
Carbon intensity averaged 849 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 7.6% of generation.
Figures are calculated from Eskom's published hourly data. Rooftop solar sits behind the meter and is not included.