Eskom has 26 power stations with the current capacity to generate a total of 37 761MW of electricity. Only 35 436MW is normally available, with the extra 2 323MW used exclusively during peak times.

Due to growing electricity demand, Eskom's ageing plants are operated at maximum capacity, which often leads to equipment failures and less electricity available to the national grid that powers South Africa. Together with reduced capacity when plants are shut down for regular maintenance, this means that Eskom is not able to generate enough electricity to meet demand by households and industry. This results in power cuts.

Capital investment
To address the urgent electricity supply shortage, Eskom, which is owned by government, is investing about R342-billion over the next five years in new power plants.

Short-term capacity expansion includes:

• Return to service of three power stations that were in long-term storage – Camden, Komati and Grootvlei – which jointly provide an additional 3 677MW
• Construction of two gas-fired power plants – open cycle gas turbines in Mossel Bay and Atlantis. These will provide an additional 1 042MW
• The Gas1 project, which will add 1 036MW of capacity to already completed open cycle gas turbine plants

Long-term capacity expansion includes:

• Construction of a pump storage project, Ingula, in northern KwaZulu-Natal. Ingula will generate 331MW of electricity by 2012 and an additional 993MW by 2013
• Building a new power station, Medupi, at Lephalale. This will generate an additional 4 788MW of electricity, with the first generating unit available at the beginning of 2012 and the last one by 2016
• Developing Project Bravo, near Witbank, which will provide an additional 4 818MW. The first generating unit will come online by July 2012 and the last unit in December 2015
• A 100MW wind farm on the Cape West Coast due for completion by 2010