Loadshedding remains suspended as investments in the generation recovery plan continue to pay off, driving efficiencies and supporting economic growth - diesel savings reached R14.6 billion year-on-year

Friday, 08 November 2024: Loadshedding has been suspended for over seven months (226 consecutive days) since 26 March 2024. Eskom continues to focus on maximising efficiencies from the investments made in the Generation Recovery Plan. This has resulted in year-on-year diesel savings of R14.6 billion, approximately 70.3% less than the R20.8 billion spent during the same period last year. Further savings are expected in the coming weeks and months due to the improved performance of the coal fleet.

Following Eskom’s report on Monday, 4 November 2024, regarding the incident with Unit 6 at Kriel Power Station, Eskom can confirm that there has been no impact on its ability to meet the country’s electricity demand.

Over the past seven days, the average total unplanned outages have been 10 127MW, a significant decrease from 16 892MW during the same period last year, representing a reduction of 6 765MW. This ongoing improvement in reducing unplanned outages enables Eskom to carry out more planned maintenance activities and ensures that more generation capacity is available to meet the country’s electricity demand.

Today’s unplanned outages are at 11 387MW, which is 1 613MW lower than the summer 2024 base case, indicating enhanced operational efficiency in the past week.

Eskom’s EAF increased to an average of 65.2% over the past week and 63.1% year-to-date, with top-performing stations — including Medupi, Camden, Tutuka, Kusile, and peaking facilities — achieving over 70% EAF. Four other power stations recorded EAFs above 60%.

With an available generation capacity of 28 883MW and a peak demand forecast of 26 321MW for tonight, Eskom is well-capacitated to meet the electricity demand. By Monday evening, an additional 4 050MW is expected to return online, with four units on cold reserve this weekend to manage the supply and demand balance.

In August, Eskom shared its Summer Outlook for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a loadshedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements. This outlook remains unchanged.

Key Performance Highlights:

Reduction in unplanned outages:

• The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) reduced to 25.2% for the financial year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 7 November 2024), improving from 33.6% in the corresponding period last year.
• This reduction in UCLF represents a ~8.5% improvement compared to the same period last year.

Ongoing Planned Maintenance:

Ongoing planned maintenance is at 5 386MW, aligned with our summer maintenance strategy to further increase the reliability of the stations in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.

Sustained Energy Availability Factor (EAF) improvement:

• The year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 7 November 2024) EAF remains at 63.1%, a significant improvement of ~7.5% compared to the same period last year (55.6%).
• The weekly EAF has improved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 65.2% from 1 to 7 November 2024, an improvement of 8.2%.
• This improvement is primarily due to a drop in unplanned outages (UCLF and OCLF) of the generation units.

Continued strategic utilisation of Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs):

Our strategic use of peaking stations, including pumped storage and OCGTs, remains key in managing electricity demand during peak times, particularly during evening peaks (17:00 to 22:00).

• Eskom’s expenditure on OCGTs between 1 April and 7 November 2024 was about R6.2 billion having generated 950.35GWh, approximately 70.3% (R14.6 billion) less than the R20.8 billion spent last year over the same period for 3 356.03GWh.
• The OCGT load factor for 1 April to 7 November 2024 was 5.25 %, compared to last year’s figure of 18.53%.
• The OCGT load factor for 1 to 7 November 2024 was 0.52%, significantly lower than the 24.84% for the same period last year.
• Diesel usage remains below the year-to-date budget.

‘Save Your Transformers, Save Lives’ campaign

While loadshedding remains suspended, Eskom continues to face network overloading issues in certain local areas due to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorised network operations, theft of network equipment, and purchasing electricity from unlicensed vendors.

To prevent public safety hazards and the risk of network overloading which can lead to load reduction measures and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly urges customers to avoid illegal connections, as this can negatively impact the entire local community. It is also essential for customers to ensure they purchase electricity only from authorised vendors.

Eskom urges the public to help protect the integrity of the power network by reporting any illegal activities to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.

As 24 November 2024 approaches, Eskom reminds customers to update their pre-paid meters to avoid them expiring and losing electricity. This simple, DIY process involves buying credit tokens from authorized vendors. Customers will receive two 20-digit codes to enter into their meters for the update.

We will provide an update on Friday, 15 November 2024, or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur.

Statement issued by Eskom, 8 November 2024