- Loadshedding (blackouts) remains suspended for 240 consecutive days since 26 March 2024 in South Africa.
- Year-on-year diesel savings of R16.33 billion, is approximately 71.2% less than the R22.94 billion spent during the same period last year.
- Diesel usage remains below the year-to-date budget.
Tuesday, 19 November 2024 marked the longest period of uninterrupted supply in South Africa in five years.
Over the past week, the average total unplanned outages have dropped to 10 478MW, a notable improvement from 16 367MW recorded during the same period last year — representing a reduction of 5 890MW. This continuous progress in minimising unplanned outages allows Eskom to increase planned maintenance activities and ensures greater generation capacity is available to meet the nation’s electricity needs.
Today’s unplanned outages are at 10 170MW, which is 2 830MW lower than the summer 2024 base case, indicating enhanced operational efficiency in the past week.
Eskom’s EAF was maintained at an average of 64.5% over the past week and 63.1% year-to-date, with top-performing stations — including Medupi, Kusile, Matla and peaking facilities — achieving an average of and above 70% EAF. Five other power stations recorded EAFs above 60%.
In August, Eskom shared its Summer Outlook for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a loadshedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements. This outlook remains unchanged.
Key Performance Highlights:
Reduction in unplanned outages:
- The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) is at 25.0% for the financial year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 21 November 2024), improving from 33.6% in the corresponding period last year.
- This reduction in UCLF represents an ~8.4% improvement compared to the same period last year.
Ongoing Planned Maintenance:
Ongoing planned maintenance is at 8 402MW, aligning with our summer maintenance strategy to further increase the reliability of the stations in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.
Sustained Energy Availability Factor (EAF) improvement:
- The year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 21 November 2024) EAF is at 63.1%, a significant improvement of ~7.6% compared to the same period last year (55.5%).
- The weekly EAF has improved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 64.5% from 18 to 21 November 2024, an improvement of 7.5%.
- This improvement is primarily due to a drop in unplanned outages (UCLF and OCLF) of the generation units.
Continued strategic utilisation of Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs):
Our strategic use of peaking stations, including pumped storage and OCGTs, remains key in managing electricity demand during peak times, particularly during evening peaks (17:00 to 22:00).
- Eskom’s expenditure on OCGTs between 1 April and 21 November 2024 was about R6.61 billion having generated 1 019.44GWh, approximately 71.2% (R16.33 billion) less than the R22.94 billion spent last year over the same period for 3 684.31GWh.
- The OCGT load factor for 1 April to 21 November 2024 reduced to 5.29 %, compared to last year’s figure of 19.13%.
- The OCGT load factor for 1 to 21 November 2024 was 4.19%, significantly lower than the 27.36% for the same period last year.
- Diesel usage remains below the year-to-date budget.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
Information source: Eskom
