As South Africans prepare for winter, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan’s assurances on when the country’s electricity supply will stabilise would have offered them little comfort.

Last week Thursday saw Eskom institute load-shedding across the country, and while the emergency was lifted later that evening, there are fears that it could happen again – and for longer – when the demand for electricity increases in winter.

On Tuesday, Gordhan said that the completion of three new power stations, including coal-fired plants at Medupi and Kusile, would help boost the supply.

“If we look at this package, I reckon that in the next two years or so we will have adequate electricity supply,” Gordhan told parliament.

Outgoing Eskom CEO Brian Dames, meanwhile, said that South Africa “is not out of the woods yet” with the power supply still under pressure.

“The supply issues will be a problem for the next few months unless we have aggressive supply interventions of at least 3000MW,” he said.