Eskom holds 520 days without load shedding as diesel bill falls by R4.87 billion

Eskom has recorded 520 days without load shedding, with the Energy Availability Factor reaching 68.2% for the financial year to date, its highest level in six years.

The utility says unplanned outages have improved by 6.67% year on year, equivalent to 3 001MW of generation capacity returned to service, and that 5 695MW of surplus capacity is currently available as a platform for growth and industrialisation.

In a statement carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency), Eskom attributed the gains to sustained operational improvements under the Generation Recovery Plan, which it said had contributed to South Africa recording 518 consecutive days without load shedding since 16 May 2025.

“Improved fleet performance, lower unplanned outages, increased generation capacity and reduced reliance on emergency generation continue to strengthen security of supply,” the power utility stated.

The improved generation has cut reliance on diesel-fired Open-Cycle Gas Turbines. Diesel expenditure fell by R4.87 billion to R1.18 billion, compared with R6.05 billion over the corresponding period last year.

Load reduction remains the outstanding item. Eskom says it aims to eradicate the practice completely by 2027. Load reduction is implemented to protect infrastructure from overloading and destruction where there are illegal connections.

Seven provinces have achieved full elimination, and the number of affected customers has declined from approximately 1.69 million to 193 556, a reduction of 88.6% that leaves 2.7% of Eskom’s customer base affected. The remaining impact is confined to selected areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where about 80% of previously affected customers have already been returned to normal supply.

Smart meters are the key intervention. Some 521 453 have been installed on load reduction feeders, reaching approximately 90% of the 577 347 target for high-priority areas. About 83% of these installations are concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, where pressure on the network is highest, and the rollout remains focused on high-loss areas affected by illegal connections, infrastructure overloading and electricity theft.

Eskom says resistance in some areas continues to affect progress despite stakeholder engagement including work with ward councillors, public meetings and media platforms. It cites safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages, with more than 122 000 planned installations impacted to date.

On Koeberg Nuclear Power Station, Eskom reported that during testing associated with the planned maintenance outage of Unit 2, an electrical protection system linked to Unit 1 operated as designed for a disturbance outside tolerance limits, automatically tripping the Unit 1 400 kV and 24 kV breakers. The protection system safely disconnected Unit 1 from the grid and the unit was taken offline, with engineering teams conducting fault-finding to determine the cause and identify corrective actions.

“There are no nuclear safety concerns associated with this event. All nuclear safety systems remain fully operational, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station remains in a safe and stable condition,” the utility assured.

This report is based on Eskom’s published update as carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency) at https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/eskom-continues-make-progress-under-generation-plan. It is a summary of the utility’s statement rather than the underlying operational record.