Winter ends with zero load shedding as Eskom hits six‑year high
The achievement marks a decisive shift from recovery to reliability, ensuring the country has met winter demand.
As winter draws to a close, South Africa has avoided load shedding in the coldest months of the year. This achievement follows a strong performance from state-owned power utility Eskom, which has delivered its best results in six years. The Energy Availability Factor (EAF), a key measure of generation capacity, reached 67.55%, a six-year high, while unplanned outages dropped significantly year-on-year.
Eskom attributes this improvement to increased operating efficiency, with more than 71% of its coal fleet operating at EAF levels between 71% and 93%, restoring 6.1 gigawatts of generating capacity to the grid. Unplanned outages fell to 6,653 megawatts from 11,982 megawatts in the same week last year, equivalent to the combined capacity of Camden and Kriel power stations.
Financial sustainability has also improved, with diesel expenditure plummeting by 83.2% year-on-year, falling from R5.89 billion to R989.88 million. Eskom's leadership attributes this success to intensified efforts against cross-border crime and the seizure of illicit cigarettes, which have disrupted the supply of fuel to the power grid.
Looking ahead, Eskom remains confident in its Winter Outlook, projecting no load shedding through August with available capacity at 30,878 megawatts against a forecast evening peak of 27,177 megawatts.
Written by urgent.news from The Citizen's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
