- South Africa’s national power system continues to show strong improvement, with unplanned outages falling sharply and generation performance strengthening as Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan delivers sustained results.
Eskom reports that the Energy Availability Factor (EAF), a key measure of how often the generation fleet is able to produce electricity, has climbed to 70.06% month-to-date. This marks a notable rise of 7.04 percentage points from the same period last year. Year-to-date, EAF stands at 63.63%, with the utility reaching or surpassing the 70% benchmark on 39 occasions. Officials say the consistent improvement reinforces grid stability and supports the broader economic recovery.
The stronger EAF has reduced Eskom’s dependence on costly diesel-powered Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs). No OCGTs were used over the past week, and the company reports that diesel spending remains below budget for the year. With excess capacity available, 11 generation units, totalling 4 294MW have been placed on cold reserve.
Unplanned outages have seen significant declines. For the week of 14–20 November, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) fell to 17.54%, down from 22.65% a year ago. In the same period, unplanned outages averaged 8 441MW, marking a year-on-year improvement of 2 376MW. Planned maintenance levels also dipped slightly to 13.31%, in line with Eskom’s long-term strategy to strengthen plant reliability.
The sustained recovery has translated into greater system stability nationwide. South Africa has now gone 189 consecutive days without power interruptions, aside from 26 hours of loadshedding in April and May.
Looking ahead, Eskom plans to add 1 630MW of capacity before the evening peak on Monday, 24 November. Peak demand for Friday is forecast at 23 668MW, comfortably supported by 28 545MW of available generation.
The utility’s Summer Outlook, released on 5 September and covering September 2025 to March 2026, predicts no loadshedding as long as the improved performance of the generation fleet continues.
Key Performance Indicators
- Year-to-date UCLF has dropped to 24.52%, continuing a week-on-week downward trend.
- Planned maintenance averaged 5 347MW, or 11.39% of total capacity—slightly higher than the same period last year.
- Diesel use continues to decline month-on-month, despite OCGT output of 1 024.47GWh so far, this financial year, costing R6.079 billion.
- The OCGT load factor has decreased to 5.34%, down from last week, though marginally above last year’s 5.32%.
Eskom says the improvements reflect growing resilience within the generation fleet and mark continued progress in securing a stable, reliable energy supply for the country.
Author: Bryan Groenendaal
