Eskom hits six-year high as diesel bill falls R4.8bn and load reduction drops to 247,617 customers

Eskom’s weekly energy availability factor stayed above 70% for a second consecutive week, reaching 70.44% for 18 to 24 September 2026, and the utility reported a financial year-to-date EAF of 68.06%, which it said is its highest in six years.

The figure is 5.64 percentage points better than the 62.42% recorded over the same period last year, and 12.8% better than three years ago, when the Generation Recovery Plan began. Eskom said that improvement has returned roughly 6,461MW of generating capacity to the grid.

Diesel spending fell sharply. From 1 April to 24 September 2026, Eskom spent R1.16 billion on diesel, down R4.78 billion or 80.56% from R5.94 billion over the same period last year. The open-cycle gas turbine load factor dropped from 6.97% to 1.05%.

Eskom also reported that it has now gone 497 consecutive days without loadshedding, since 16 May 2025.

Unplanned outages averaged 7,622MW for the week, down from 9,633MW in the same week last year, a reduction of 2,011MW or 21%. The unplanned capacity loss factor for the week improved from 20.25% to 15.72%, and for the financial year to date sits at 19.09%, 6.83% lower than a year earlier. Average unplanned outages have fallen by 6,887MW over three years, from 16,027MW to 9,140MW.

Planned maintenance rose over the same period, with the planned capacity loss factor averaging 13.83% for the week against 10.71% a year earlier. For the financial year to date, planned maintenance averaged 6,009MW, or 12.67% of total generation capacity, up from 5,233MW and 11.16% a year earlier.

On emissions, Eskom said it exceeded its particulate reduction target, recording 0.32kg/MWhSO against a target of 0.35kg/MWhSO, and has performed better than that target since October 2025.

The utility also reported progress on load reduction, the targeted interruption of supply in high-loss areas that is separate from loadshedding. The number of customers affected has fallen from 1.69 million to 247,617, which Eskom said is 3.4% of its customer base. Seven of the nine provinces are now free of load reduction, and about 1.4 million customers, or 86% of those targeted, have been returned to normal supply. The remaining affected customers are in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where more than 60% of previously affected customers have been restored.

Eskom said 578 of its 971 targeted feeders have been removed from load reduction, about 59% of the programme. Limpopo, Mpumalanga, the Eastern Cape, the Western Cape, the Free State, the North West and the Northern Cape have achieved full elimination.

On the smart meter rollout, 517,810 meters have been installed on load reduction feeders, about 89.7% of the 577,347 target for high-priority areas. Eskom said about 82% of installations are concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal. The utility reported that resistance in some areas, including safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages, has delayed more than 122,000 planned installations.

A total of 546,576 customers are registered for Free Basic Electricity, up about 13% from a baseline of 485,000, which Eskom said is about 26% of the 2.1 million eligible customers.

The utility said illegal connections and meter tampering persist in certain localised areas, and that load reduction remains a temporary measure in high-risk areas. It aims to eliminate load reduction for all customers by March 2027, using smart meters, distributed energy resources and expanded Free Basic Electricity support.

Eskom said it holds 6,571MW in cold reserve because of excess capacity, and that it will publish its power system status and Summer Outlook in the coming weeks. Its next weekly update is due on Friday, 2 October 2026.

Customers can report illegal connections and infrastructure damage to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 112 722 or by WhatsApp on 081 333 3323.

Source: Eskom, Eskom achieves weekly EAF of 70% and year-to-date EAF of 68.06%