Eskom said that 300 days of suspension of load shedding milestone will be reached on Monday, 20 January at midnight. Power utility Eskom said on Friday that they had reached 296 consecutive days without implementing load shedding since 26 March last year.
Eskom said that on Monday, 20 January at midnight, the power utility will reach 300 days of load shedding suspension for the South African economy, a milestone not seen since June 2018. “This performance has also resulted in year-to-date diesel savings of R16.42 billion (on a year-on-year basis), which is about 62.9% less than the R26.09 billion spent during the same period last year, as a result of the continued execution of the Generation Operational Recovery plan.”
Eskom added that the return of Koeberg Unit 2 and Kriel Unit 6 has had a positive impact on the grid. “Eskom’s Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has seen Unit 2 sending 930MW and more to the grid on some days since its return to service following a scheduled long-term outage, resulting in an average Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 99.95% since the unit returned to service.
Unit 6 at Kriel Power Station has been returned to service, adding 475MW back into the grid today after it tripped on 3 November 2024 due to the loss of hydraulic oil to the turbine valves as a result of a broken oil pipe causing an oil spill on the hot surfaces of the turbine.”
Eskom added that in August, Eskom shared its summer outlook for the period from 01 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a load shedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements. “This outlook remains unchanged.”
Eskom said that average unplanned outages over the past week were 14,376MW, a minor improvement compared to the same period last year. “To meet demand under these circumstances, reliance was placed on a higher Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) load factor for the period under review. Year-to-date unplanned outages average 12,040MW, remaining below the summer base case of 13,000MW by 960MW.”
Eskom added unplanned outages stand at 12,566MW, while available generation capacity is 28,145MW, sufficient to meet tonight’s forecasted peak demand of 24,636MW. “While the year-to-date EAF is at 61.9%, a significant improvement of ~6.9% compared to the same period last year (54.96%). Ongoing planned maintenance at 6,799MW aligns with our summer maintenance strategy to further improve reliability in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.”
Eskom said that crime continues to hamper the network despite load shedding being suspended. “Eskom is dealing with network overloading issues in certain areas due to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorized network operations, theft of network equipment, and purchasing electricity from unlicensed vendors.”
Eskom added that the public is urged to avoid illegal connections. “These can cause public safety hazards, network overloading, and lead to load reduction measures and unplanned power outages. They also negatively impact the community and can result in hefty fines. We also urge the public to purchase electricity from authorised vendors. Ensure that you buy electricity only from Eskom-accredited vendors.”
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