Eskom says there's a 'notable' improvement at six of its coal-fired power stations

Eskom says there have been notable gradual improvements in its power generation fleet.

According to the power utility, over the past week, six coal-fired power stations achieved an energy availability factor (EAF) of 70%, a milestone it says was last achieved on May 8 last year.

Eskom says three of those power stations, Camden, Duvha and Matla, have been on a sustained upward trend as a result of a reduction of plant breakdowns and the return to service of a number of units that were on unplanned breakdowns.

Eskom said other power stations, Lethabo, Matimba and Medupi, have been experiencing continued good performance and remain among its three best-performing stations.

In addition, Lethabo is said to have been able to sustain performance after a quick recovery after a wet coal incident experienced last week, due to flooding after excessive rainfall.

“While this is still early progress, it shows a positive trajectory from actions taken to recover Eskom generation plants. This is consistent with Eskom’s target to achieve 70% EAF by the 2025 financial year,” said Eskom’s acting group CEO, Calib Cassim.

Eskom chair Mpho Makwana said: “The marked improvement in performance at Camden, Duvha and Matla as well as the sustained commendable performance at Lethabo, Matimba and Medupi gives assurance that if we continue to apply an all-hands-on-deck approach we will continue to improve the energy availability.

“I specifically commend the various teams at these power stations for the great work and also applaud all the Eskom employees for their continued hard work and dedication,” Makwana said. 

The power utility said it continues to pursue generation recovery programmes to recover operations and achieve sustained improvements in generation performance.

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