Eskom reports six-year high in plant availability as load shedding pause reaches 490 days

Eskom has recorded an energy availability factor (EAF) of about 67.96% since the start of the financial year, the highest level in six years, the utility said in a performance update carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency).

The last bout of planned power outages was more than 490 days ago. Eskom said South Africa has now gone 490 consecutive days without load shedding since 16 May 2025.

Weekly EAF remained strong at 72.74% for the period 11 to 17 September 2026, which the utility said reinforced the positive year-to-date trend. Compared with three years ago, EAF has improved by 12.8%, returning roughly 6 202 MW of generation capacity to the grid.

Eskom attributed the improvement to “the impact of structural interventions and ongoing operational improvements across the generation fleet”.

The utility said improved performance reduced diesel expenditure by R4.80 billion, or 80.95%, year-on-year. Particulate matter emissions improved to 0.32kg/MWhSO, which it said outperformed the annual target.

“Together, these results demonstrate Eskom’s continued progress in delivering a more reliable, cost-efficient and environmentally sustainable electricity supply for South Africa,” Eskom stated.

On load reduction, the utility said it is on track to eliminate the practice by March next year. Seven provinces are already free of load reduction, with about 1.4 million customers restored to normal supply conditions.

The number of customers affected has declined from 1.69 million to 247 617, representing 3.4% of Eskom’s customer base. The remaining affected customers are in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where more than 60% of previously affected customers have been restored, with eradication efforts continuing in the remaining areas.

Eskom said the 490-day milestone reflected the cumulative impact of improved fleet performance, lower unplanned outages, increased generation capacity and reduced reliance on emergency generation resources.

This report is based on Eskom’s own published update as carried by SAnews (South African Government News Agency): https://www.sanews.gov.za/south-africa/eskom-continues-record-progress. The update is a summary of the utility’s performance and not the underlying operational record.