- Energy Availability Factor improves by 10.80% to 65.37% year to date.
- Diesel expenditure declines by 61.22% to R10.098 billion.
- South Africa records 315 consecutive days without power supply interruptions.
Eskom has reported continued operational improvements, with the Energy Availability Factor reaching 65.37% for the financial year to date, marking a 10.80% increase compared to the same period two years ago. The utility has also achieved a significant reduction in diesel expenditure, which declined by 61.22% year on year to R10.098 billion, reinforcing its focus on cost efficiency and long term energy sustainability.
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The EAF has remained consistently above 65% between 1 April 2025 and 26 March 2026, with only a marginal 0.01% decrease compared to the previous week. Despite this slight weekly dip, performance reflects steady progress under the utility’s turnaround strategy. Notably, the generation fleet has reached or exceeded the 70% EAF threshold on 83 occasions during the period, indicating improved operational stability.
Unplanned outages continue to trend downward. Between 20 and 26 March 2026, average unplanned outages stood at 11 265MW, a reduction of 2 857MW compared to the 14 122MW recorded during the same period last year. This improvement is further reflected in the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor, which declined to 23.76% from 29.67% a year earlier, representing a reduction of 5.91%.
Planned maintenance activity remains aligned with reliability and compliance objectives. The Planned Capacity Loss Factor averaged 11.16% over the same period, slightly lower than the 12.01% recorded in the previous financial year. Meanwhile, 3 941MW of capacity is currently held in cold reserve due to excess supply.
Diesel usage has been tightly controlled. Over the past week, diesel contributed 0.49GWh to the grid at a cost of R2.78 million, with a weekly load factor of 0.085%. This limited usage was primarily linked to commissioning tests associated with the return to service of Unit 11 at Gourikwa Power Station following a major outage. Year to date, diesel expenditure remains below budget and is expected to stay within budget through the end of the financial year.
South Africa’s power system has demonstrated increased resilience, with 315 consecutive days without supply interruptions. Only 26 hours of loadshedding were recorded in April and May 2025 during the current financial year.
Looking ahead, Eskom plans to bring 2 995MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak on 30 March 2026. Peak demand is forecast at 23 762MW, with available capacity of 28 470MW, providing a comfortable reserve margin and supporting grid stability.
Link to Eskom’s real time performance data portal HERE
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
