- Eskom says South Africa’s power system continues to stabilise, with the utility reporting significant improvements in plant performance, reduced reliance on diesel, and a sharp drop in unplanned outages.
- The latest figures signal continued progress under Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan, which has driven one of the most notable operational turnarounds in recent years.
According to Eskom, the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has climbed to 70.75% month-to-date, up from 63.16% during the same period last year. Year-to-date, EAF stands at 63.48%, with the national fleet reaching or surpassing 70% availability on 37 separate days. Eskom says these results highlight sustained progress in system reliability and energy security.
The jump in EAF has also translated into dramatically lower diesel use. Eskom spent just R4.80 million on diesel in the past week, compared with R287.64 million during the same week in 2024. The utility notes that diesel was used only for statutory environmental compliance tests at the Ankerlig Power Station. Year-to-date diesel spending remains below budget, with monthly consumption steadily decreasing since May.
Unplanned outages have also fallen significantly. Between 7 and 13 November, Eskom recorded an average of 9 115MW in breakdowns, 2 143MW less than during the same period last year. The Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) dropped to 18.83% from 23.49% year-on-year, while the Planned Capability Loss Factor (PCLF) declined to 10.92%, reflecting Eskom’s ongoing long-term maintenance efforts.
South Africa has now gone 182 consecutive days without loadshedding, with only 26 hours of interruptions recorded earlier in the financial year. To support continued stability, Eskom plans to return 4 270MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 17 November. Tonight’s demand is forecast at 23 568MW, with 28 153MW already available. An additional 5 645MW remains on cold reserve due to excess capacity.
Eskom reaffirmed its Summer Outlook—published in September—forecasting no loadshedding from September 2025 to March 2026, citing ongoing improvements under the Generation Recovery Plan.
Performance Snapshot
- Year-to-date UCLF has improved to 24.73%, down from last year’s 25.18%.
- Planned maintenance averaged 5 319MW (11.33% of capacity).
- Year-to-date EAF rose to 63.48%, up from 63.02% last year.
- OCGT (diesel plant) generation reached 1 024.47GWh year-to-date, with consumption steadily declining month-on-month.
- The OCGT load factor now sits at 5.51%.
Progress on Ending Load Reduction
Even as system reliability strengthens, Eskom says illegal connections and meter tampering continue to strain infrastructure in high-risk areas. Load reduction—separate from loadshedding—remains in place to protect equipment and ensure public safety.
The utility began rolling out its phased programme to eliminate load reduction ahead of the official launch on 13 November in Sandfontein, North West. The initiative aims to benefit 1.69 million customers across 971 feeders by 2027, with the highest concentrations in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.
Key measures include:
- Expanding access to Free Basic Electricity.
- Installing 577 000 smart meters by 2026, with full rollout by 2027. So far, 37 482 meters have been installed, and two feeders in Limpopo have been fully upgraded and are set to be removed from the load reduction schedule pending evaluation.
- Deploying Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) to reinforce supply in high-demand and remote areas.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
