Unplanned generation outages dropped to 5 989 MW on September 14 – the lowest level in eight years, according to Eskom’s weekly system update for September 12-18. This is a year-on-year improvement of 5 615 MW.
The utility reported 7 467 MW of unplanned outages during the period compared to 13 082 MW over the same period in 2024. The energy availability factor ranged between 70% and 74% with a month-to-date average of 71,12%.
From April 1 to September 18, open-cycle gas turbines produced a total of 1 002,34 GWh costing R5,938 billion. This is an increase from 715,70 GWh generated over the same period in 2024.
Planned maintenance averaged 5 157 MW during the week ending September 18. These figures exclude Kusile Unit 6, which has been supplying 720 MW to the grid since March 23 but is not yet in commercial operation. Eskom initially projected the unit’s commercial return in July but later revised the timeline. The unit is now expected to reach commercial status by September 30.
