Johannesburg: Eskom has assured South Africans that the power system remains stable, with unplanned outages at generating units 'currently within acceptable levels'. In a statement, the State-owned power utility said the system 'continues to show resilience' during the winter months.According to South African Government News Agency, the utility emphasized that while occasional system constraints do arise, they are effectively managed. Sufficient emergency reserves are available and strategically deployed during morning and evening peak periods to handle these constraints. The recent return of Medupi Power Station's Unit 4 online last Sunday has further bolstered the power system. Once fully operational, it will contribute 800MW to the national grid, marking a significant step in reinforcing South Africa's energy security and enhancing supply reliability.Since May, no load shedding has been implemented, with planned rolling power outages occurring for only 26 hours between 1 April and 10 July 2025. Eskom c redits this stability to an 'improved Energy Availability Factor [EAF]', which ranged between 60% and 62% last week. As of Friday, unplanned outages totaled 13 380MW, with an available generation capacity of 30 195MW. To further stabilize the grid, Eskom plans to return a total of 3 470MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday.The Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) for the current financial year to date (1 April to 10 July 2025) stands at 29.44%, an increase from 27.03% during the same period last year. The load factor for open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) has slightly increased to 10.78%, up from the previous week, although it remains higher than the 5.87% recorded last year. Despite diesel usage being within budget, it is expected to decrease as more units return to service, thereby increasing available generation capacity.The winter outlook remains positive, with expectations that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages remain below 13 000MW. If outage s reach 15 000MW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2. Eskom encourages efficient electricity use across the nation and offers tools like the Eskom Residential Calculator for tracking and optimizing energy usage.Eskom urges citizens to protect essential electricity infrastructure by avoiding illegal connections and energy theft, which lead to transformer overloads and equipment failures. The public is encouraged to report illegal activities to the Eskom Crime Line. Customers should purchase electricity only from Eskom-accredited vendors and eligible households are urged to register for free basic electricity with their local municipalities.