Following over 10 months of uninterrupted electricity supply due to the success of the Generation Recovery Plan, Eskom has encountered a temporary setback. As a result, Stage 3 loadshedding is being implemented from 17:00 today until Sunday midnight. Eskom will give an update on Sunday, 2 February 2025.
“This is a temporary setback, as loadshedding is largely behind us due to structural improvements in the generation fleet,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane.
“Over the past seven days, we have experienced several breakdowns that require extended repair times. This has necessitated the use of all our emergency reserves, which now need to be replenished over the weekend,” concluded Marokane.
“The structural improvements and efficiency gain we have made to our coal-fired generation fleet to date are safe and the R16.30 billion saved in diesel spend from 1 April 2024 to 30 January 2025 is also safe,” said Group Executive Generation, Bheki Nxumalo.
“The weekend loadshedding allows for the replenishment of the Open-Cycle Gas Turbines and pumped storage reserves in preparation for next week. We are committed to ensuring that South Africa is in no way returning to the levels of loadshedding that we experienced in 2023,” concluded Nxumalo.
Summer Outlook prediction remains unchanged
Eskom’s Summer Outlook, published on 26 August 2024, projected that in a scenario where unplanned outages reach 14 000MW, Stage 1 loadshedding may be implemented. Should unplanned outages increase to 15 000MW, Stage 2 loadshedding could be required.
While unplanned outages have increased to 13 313MW, they have been on a downward trend, averaging 12 087MW from 01 April 2024 to 30 January 2025, with Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) at 7.3% lower than the same period last year. Additionally, diesel savings were at R16.30 billion—about 60.2% lower than the R27.09 billion spent during the same period last year— While diesel consumption remains below the year-to-date budget, it will be used strategically to manage electricity demand during peak times.
A total of 3 410MW will be returned to service by 3 February 2025 to ease pressure on the grid and further enhance the reliability of supply.
Ongoing planned maintenance at 6 177MW, aligns with our summer maintenance strategy to further improve reliability of our generation fleet in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.
Tonight’s evening peak demand is estimated at 24 612MW.
Isolated network overloading
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 and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly urges customers to avoid illegal connections, as this can negatively impact the entire local community. It is also essential for customers to ensure they purchase electricity only from authorised vendors. For a list of authorised outlets, visit the provided link. https://www.eskom.co.za/distribution/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/2024123Vending-outlets.xlsx
Eskom urges the public to help protect the integrity of the power network by reporting any illegal activities to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.
Progress and delivery of turnaround strategy
Eskom announced its group interim results for the first six months of the 2025 financial year, covering the period 1 April to 30 September 2024, yesterday. The results demonstrate the significant improvement in performance that the organisation has delivered to address South Africa’s energy crisis. The energy availability factor (EAF) of Eskom’s generation plant increased to 62.96% for the period under review (September 2023: 55.27%). The improvement in availability is largely due to a significant decrease of around 4 000MW (which equates to four stages of loadshedding) in unplanned breakdowns and losses (UCLF) to 25.60%, compared to 34.24% in the prior period. EAF exceeded 70% on several occasions during the period under review, with UCLF at times falling below 20%.
We will provide an update on Friday, 7 February 2025, or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur.
SOURCED FROM THE ESKOM WEBSITE.
