KEY POINTS
- Eskom’s power availability rose to a six-year high of 67.24%.
- Diesel spending plunged 83.44% as reliance on emergency generation fell.
- Nearly 1.2 million customers have been removed from load reduction.
Eskom has recorded its strongest year-to-date Energy Availability Factor, EAF, performance in six years, marking a significant improvement in the reliability of South Africa’s electricity generation fleet and reducing the utility’s dependence on costly diesel-fired generation.
The power utility said its financial year-to-date Energy Availability Factor rose to 67.24% between April 1 and August 6, 2026, compared with 60.05% recorded during the corresponding period last year.
The 7.19 percentage-point improvement represents the highest financial year-to-date EAF recorded by Eskom since November 18, 2020, according to the utility.
Eskom said the improvement reflected sustained interventions under its Generation Recovery Plan and a broader shift from recovering its generation fleet to improving long-term reliability and sustainability.
Eskom said its improved performance had returned approximately 5.9GW of generating capacity to the national grid compared with the same period three years ago.
More than 85% of the utility’s coal-fired generation fleet is currently operating at EAF levels between 70% and 92%, indicating stronger performance across a significant portion of the generation fleet.
The utility said the improved availability of its plants had also helped reduce unplanned outages, strengthening the resilience of the power system and allowing it to meet increased winter electricity demand.
Between July 31 and August 6, average unplanned outages fell to 7,718MW, compared with 10,758MW during the same period in 2025.
This represents a year-on-year reduction of 3,039MW, or 28.3%, a decline Eskom said was almost equivalent to the generating capacity of a power station such as Tutuka.
Unplanned capacity losses also improved, with the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor falling to 16.12% during the period, compared with 22.60% a year earlier.
Diesel spending plunges
One of the clearest signs of the improved performance is Eskom’s sharply reduced reliance on diesel-powered open-cycle gas turbines.
For the financial year-to-date period ending August 6, diesel expenditure stood at R948.46 million, compared with R5.73 billion during the same period last year.
That represents an 83.44% reduction in diesel expenditure.
Eskom attributed the decline to stronger performance from its generation fleet, which has reduced the need to rely on expensive emergency generation during periods of high demand.
The average load factor of Eskom’s Open-Cycle Gas Turbines fell to 1.17%, from 9.33% during the corresponding period last year.
OCGT generation for the financial year-to-date period also fell by approximately 87.44% to 121.77GWh.
The utility said the reduced use of diesel generation was evidence that improvements in plant reliability were not only strengthening electricity supply but also lowering the cost of meeting demand.
Eskom said it continues to maintain additional generating capacity in reserve, with 3,360MW currently held in cold reserve because of excess capacity.
The additional reserve provides a buffer for the national grid and strengthens the system’s ability to respond to unexpected changes in demand or generation availability.
For the evening peak, Eskom forecast demand at 27,133MW against available capacity of 32,225MW.
The utility also expected another 1,313MW of generation capacity to return to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, August 10.
Eskom’s Winter Outlook, published in April for the April 1 to August 31 period, continues to project no loadshedding. The latest performance figures come as South Africa records 448 consecutive days without loadshedding, dating back to May 16, 2025.
Eskom said electricity demand had been met 100% of the time during the current financial year, covering the period from April 1 to August 6.
The utility said the improved reliability of the power system was supporting households, businesses and broader economic activity by providing a more dependable electricity supply.
However, it acknowledged that challenges remain in parts of the distribution network, particularly in areas affected by illegal connections, electricity theft and meter tampering.
