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Diesel peaking plants in South Africa
Open-cycle gas turbines burning diesel, used to cover evening peaks and emergencies. Expensive to run, so heavy use signals a strained grid. Since April 2022 the diesel peakers have generated 15 822.7 GWh, which is 1.6% of everything South Africa's grid produced in that time.
Generated since 202215 822.7GWh
Share of all generation1.6%
The highest output recorded was 3 133 MW, at 19:00 on 31 July 2022.
Diesel peakers year by year
| Year | GWh | Share of generation |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 3 031.1 | 1.8% |
| 2023 | 5 243.1 | 2.4% |
| 2024 | 3 353.4 | 1.5% |
| 2025 | 3 357.2 | 1.6% |
| 2026 | 837.8 | 0.6% |
Where the diesel peakers sits in the mix
| Source | GWh | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Coal | 755 003.0 | 78.6% |
| Wind | 49 271.5 | 5.1% |
| Imports | 41 296.1 | 4.3% |
| Nuclear | 40 822.5 | 4.3% |
| Solar PV | 22 140.7 | 2.3% |
| Pumped storage | 19 564.7 | 2.0% |
| Diesel peakers | 15 822.7 | 1.6% |
| Hydro | 8 846.2 | 0.9% |
| Concentrated solar | 6 031.0 | 0.6% |
| Other renewables | 1 185.1 | 0.1% |
| Gas | 25.2 | 0.0% |
| Total supply | 960 008.7 | 100% |
Calculated from Eskom's published hourly data. Rooftop solar is behind the meter and does not appear here.