Cape Town - As winter fades out and spring blooms, Public Enterprises Minister Malusi Gigaba has thanked all South Africans for saving electricity in winter when the demand was the highest.
However, he has also appealed to the nation, including business and industry, to "redouble efforts to increase energy efficiency at all levels."
Eskom had forecast a demand of 37 500MW during winter but it fell to around 37 000MW.
Gigaba warned that while the load shedding of 2008 had been averted, "it's no secret that our electricity supply and demand is delicately balanced, requiring increased vigilance and a heightened level of operational scrutiny...ensuring that we have reliable and secure supply of electricity."
Gigaba, along with Eskom chief executive Brian Dames, addressed the media on the state of electricity in the country on Thursday in Cape Town.
He said that for the country to push through winter without disruptions was a result of Eskom's power stations and transmission lines performing well and 600MW in the national grid being supplied by independent power producers, among other initiatives.
The recent coal miners' strike and its potential impact on Eskom was a concern, he said, but the power utility had contingency plans in place.
"Eskom is busy rebuilding its stockpiles so that it will enter the rainy season with some confidence of fuel adequacy.
"We know that the system will become increasingly tight until such a time that Eskom's new base-load power stations start to deliver electricity into the grid, starting with the first power from Medupi scheduled for the end of 2012."
He said that the next challenge facing electricity supply security was the "summer maintenance" season when Eskom worked on the stations and power lines to ensure that they operate reliably throughout the year.
The minister warned that illegal connections, electricity and cable theft "only served to exacerbate the problem by placing additional undue pressure on our distribution networks, resulting in more power outages and local level."
Gigaba said that government would treat such crimes as "economic sabotage so that necessary seriousness is attached by the law-enforcement institutions for their combating."
Dames echoed the same sentiments, saying such behaviour mounted to "economic crimes."
He said that South Africa had enough electricity to meet the demand, but needed more reserves.
Dames also warned that supply was set to be tight during summer and consumers needed to save power particularly between 5pm and 8pm when demand peaked.
