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Eskom says it has achieved a major milestone after delivering a full year without any load-shedding for the first time in eight years.
The power utility said on Saturday the achievement marks a turning point in South Africa’s electricity supply and signals improved stability in the national grid.
“At 00.01 today [Saturday], Eskom delivered for South Africa one full year without a single second of load-shedding, a milestone last achieved eight years ago in September 2018.
“This milestone marks a decisive turning point and a structural shift from a recovering grid to a stable, high-performing power system. While the legacy of load-shedding once constrained economic activity and strained South African households, 365 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply represent more than operational progress; it is a restoration of national confidence.”
Eskom said the sustained reliability over the past three years has saved about R26.9bn in diesel costs while allowing the utility to meet 100% of the country’s electricity demand.
The improvements follow the implementation of its generation operational recovery plan introduced in March 2023.
“This moment has been three years in the making since the inception of the generation recovery plan,” Eskom board chairperson Mteto Nyati said.
“Eskom’s employees have again delivered using their deep technical and institutional capability built over decades of public investment that remains a critical part of our national capacity, which will now increasingly focus on delivering cleaner sources of energy.
“The Eskom board and I are proud of the leadership demonstrated by the Eskom executive team led by Dan Marokane and the perseverance and focus of Eskom employees after the state capture years,” he said.
“South Africa now has a stable electricity platform to enable an orderly transformation of the industry, as no energy market liberalisation in the world has been successful without a stable incumbent,” Eskom Group CEO Dan Marokane said.
“The delivery of this milestone again demonstrates that Eskom’s true progress is rooted in the expertise of its 40,000 people, our original equipment manufacturers and other partners. Government intervention through the energy action plan has also been an important factor towards the progress we have made.”
Marokane said Eskom is positioned to help deliver South Africa’s planned energy investments under the integrated resource plan.
Eskom Group executive for generation, Bheki Nxumalo, said: “Eskom is a skills-based engineering organisation, and morale is at an all-time high as we reach this milestone and deliver to South Africa what we do best. The belief in ourselves and our pride have returned.”
Nxumalo said Eskom is ready to participate in a competitive generation marketplace.
“Today represents the hardest-won progress in Eskom’s recent history and establishes a stable platform for continued performance improvement achieved through consistent execution of maintenance and improving the reliability of each unit in the system. We are ready to participate in a competitive power generation marketplace.”
Eskom said generation performance has improved significantly since the recovery plan was introduced in March 2023.
The utility’s energy availability factor improved from 54.56% to 65.16% while unplanned outages declined from 32.34% to 22.88%, signalling fewer breakdowns and more reliable power generation.
Diesel expenditure used for emergency power generation also dropped sharply from about R33.3bn to R6.4bn, representing a reduction of about R26.9bn.
“These gains are underpinned by a strengthened maintenance programme and the disciplined implementation of the generation operational recovery plan.
“The consistent baseload electricity supply and improved generation capacity have enabled Eskom to support energy-intensive industries in distress, particularly the ferrochrome sector,” said Eskom.
The utility said that a more stable baseload fleet has improved the system’s ability to accommodate renewable energy during peak demand periods, contributing to a more flexible power system.
“Sustained performance gains and cost discipline contributed to Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings upgrading Eskom’s credit rating for the first time in more than a decade, signalling improved confidence in the utility’s recovery trajectory.”
Looking ahead, Eskom said it remains focused on maintaining stability while supporting South Africa’s long-term energy transition, including decisions about the phased shutdown and repurposing of older coal-fired power stations.
The utility also said more than half a million households are already benefiting from Eskom’s load reduction programme, with load reduction fully eradicated in the Northern Cape and Western Cape.
“Eskom is translating strengthened performance into tangible results. A more stable and predictable power supply is reducing disruption, enabling businesses to plan with greater certainty and supporting an environment where industry and investment can grow across South Africa and beyond,” the utility said.
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