Johannesburg: Savings on diesel at Eskom have reached some R15.16 billion, as the power utility’s Generation Recovery Plan continues to bear fruit. Load shedding has been suspended for at least 230 days, with spending on diesel for open cycle gas turbines falling by some 69.9% during the same period last year. The power utility said it had recorded improvements in the performance of its coal fleet.

According to South African Government News Agency, last week, the average total unplanned outages dropped to 11 235MW, a notable improvement from 16 422MW recorded during the same period last year, representing a reduction of 5 187MW. This progress in minimising unplanned outages allows Eskom to increase planned maintenance activities and ensures greater generation capacity is available to meet the nation’s electricity needs.

Last week, Eskom also maintained an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of over 60%. Eskom’s EAF was maintained at an average of 61.4% over the past week and 62.8% year-to-date, with top-perfor
ming stations – including Kusile, Medupi, and peaking facilities – achieving an average of and above 70% EAF. Four other power stations recorded EAFs above 60%. With an available generation capacity of 29 157MW and a peak demand forecast of 25 954MW for tonight, Eskom remains on track to meet electricity demand. By Monday evening, an additional 2 540MW is expected to return online.

The outlook for a load shedding free summer is unchanged. Eskom called on community members to report any illegal activities, as these cause overloading issues. While load shedding 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 illeg
al connections. Such actions can negatively impact the entire local community and result in hefty remedial fines. It is also essential for customers to purchase electricity only from authorised vendors.