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"Eskom and the City of Cape Town worked together to ensure that the parliamentary precinct will have uninterrupted power supply during this evening's state-of-the-nation address by President Jacob Zuma," Eskom said in its latest system status bulletin.

In addition, the City of Cape Town had received confirmation from the public works department that back-up generators supplying Parliament had been tested, were operational, and had sufficient fuel.

"Eskom's plant maintenance plan is underway and will continue until May at all power stations, including open-cycle gas turbines," the electricity provider said.

"Maintenance includes, among others, the replacement of parts, servicing of equipment, and inspection of facilities at all stations."

The company therefore expected the power grid to remain constrained for the rest of the week and the rest of the summer.

Eskom called on all South Africans to pull together over the next few months and use electricity sparingly, by switching off geysers, pool pumps, non-essential lights, using air-conditioners efficiently by keeping the room temperature at 23 degrees, and responding to TV alerts each evening.

Current planned maintenance stood at 5072 megawatts (MW), while unplanned outages were 5908MW.

Estimated power supply and demand for the rest of the week:

-- Thursday: Capacity available to meet evening peak demand was 32,568MW -- including open-cycle gas turbines (OCGT) --, with demand forecast at 31,457MW

-- Friday: Capacity was 29,965MW (including OCGT), with demand at 30,627MW;

-- Saturday: Capacity was 28,746MW (including OCGT) with demand at 29,020MW;

-- Sunday: Capacity was 28,797 MW (including OCGT) with demand at 29,004MW.

Estimated power supply and demand next week:

-- Monday: Capacity was 28,896MW (including OCGT) with demand at 31,602MW;

-- Tuesday: Capacity was 28,438MW (including OCGT) with demand at 31,481MW;

-- Wednesday: Capacity was 29,031MW (including OCGT) with demand at 31,635MW.