KEY POINTS
- Eskom reports R23.9 billion profit before tax for the 2025 financial year, its first in eight years.
- Chairman Mteto Nyati says the utility is now focused on lowering electricity prices in South Africa.
- Company credits improved generation, reduced debt and end of load-shedding for turnaround success.
South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, is planning to cut electricity tariffs after returning to profitability for the first time in eight years, a turnaround that its chairman, Mteto Nyati, describes as the result of hard, deliberate work to stabilise one of the country’s most troubled institutions.
Speaking in Johannesburg, Nyati said the company’s renewed financial health will soon translate into relief for consumers, many of whom have borne the brunt of soaring power bills and years of rolling blackouts.
“Now that we are profitable, the next big thing is the price of electricity, which is high,” he told ITWeb in an interview. “That’s what the board is focused on, making sure we reduce the cost of electricity going forward.”
Nyati, the former chief executive of Altron and MTN South Africa, was appointed Eskom’s chair at a time when the utility was synonymous with power shortages and public frustration. Load-shedding had become a fixture of South African life, and Eskom’s debts had swelled to unsustainable levels.
But under his leadership and that of the current board, the company has managed to “turn the corner,” he said, noting that the end of load-shedding and lower diesel usage were key milestones in the recovery.
Eskom Turns the Corner with Financial and Operational Gains
Eskom’s financial statements for the year ending 31 March 2025 showed a profit before tax of R23.9 billion, which Nyati said will be reinvested into critical infrastructure and energy security. “Eskom is increasingly a sustainable, investable company ready to compete in a liberalised, competitive energy market,” he said last month while announcing the results.
The turnaround follows a comprehensive diagnostic review that reaffirmed Eskom’s strategic direction and helped recalibrate its delivery timelines. The company has since seen marked improvements in generation performance, supported by its Generation Recovery Plan. According to the utility, unplanned outages have dropped sharply, with the unplanned capacity loss factor falling to 22.05% this month from 24.77% a year earlier.
For ordinary South Africans, the improvement has been palpable: the country has now gone over 150 consecutive days without load-shedding, compared to years of near-daily outages. Only 26 hours of power cuts were recorded between April and early October, a record-breaking achievement for the once-embattled utility.
