Eskom’s financial year-to-date energy availability factor (EAF) reached 67,24% on August 6 – its highest financial year-to-date level since November 2020.
The EAF increased by 7,19 percentage points from the 60,05% reported for the corresponding period last year.
Compared with the corresponding period three years ago, the EAF increased by 11,9 percentage points, returning about 5,9 GW of generating capacity to the grid, Eskom says. The utility reports that more than 85% of its coal-fired fleet is operating at EAF levels of between 70% and 92%.
The financial year-to-date unplanned capacity loss factor declined to 20,56%. During the week from July 31 to August 6, it was 16% compared with 23% in the corresponding week last year.
Reduced use of Eskom’s diesel-fired open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) accompanied the improved generation performance. Diesel expenditure fell by 83,4% from R5,73 billion during the corresponding period last year to R948,46 million in the current financial year.
The OCGT load factor declined from 9,33% to 1,17% while 3 360 MW of generation capacity was held in cold reserve because available capacity exceeded demand, Eskom reports.
“The continued strengthening of Eskom’s operational performance reflects a progressive shift from recovery to reliability. Sustained improvements across the generation fleet are delivering a more dependable electricity supply, significantly reducing reliance on diesel generation and reinforcing South Africa’s energy security,” Eskom says.
Load reduction declines
About 1 197 million customers have been removed from load reduction schedules under Eskom’s Load Reduction Eradication Programme, according to the utility. This represents 70,8% of the 1,69 million customers originally affected.
The proportion of Eskom’s 7,2 million customers subject to load reduction has consequently declined from a peak of 23,5% to about 6,9%, Eskom says.
Six provinces are no longer subject to load reduction. The measure remains in use in affected parts of the Eastern Cape, Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
“Although the power system remains stable and generation capacity continues to exceed demand, illegal connections and meter tampering persist in certain localised areas, driving infrastructure damage and posing serious safety risks,” Eskom says.
A total of 565 of the 971 targeted feeders have been removed from load reduction. The utility has also installed 504 977 smart meters on affected feeders, reaching 87,4% of its 577 347 target for high-priority areas.
About 93% of the installations are concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal where networks face pressure from illegal connections, overloading and electricity theft, according to Eskom.
Safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages have delayed more than 122 000 planned smart-meter installations, the utility says.
Eskom is aiming to eliminate load reduction in a seventh province by October 2026 and nationwide by 2027.
