Zuko Komisa
After more than 240 days without load shedding, Eskom has achieved the longest unbroken power supply in five years.
Eskom is celebrating this feat and has shared that this has led to an approximate R16.33 billion reduction in diesel expenses.
“[Last] week, the average total unplanned outages have dropped to 10 478MW – a notable improvement from 16 367MW recorded during the same period last year – representing a reduction of 5 890MW.
“This continuous 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,” Eskom said.
Furthermore Eskom has shared that The Energy Availability Factor remained steady at roughly 64.5% throughout that time and 63.1% so far this year and has urged communities to report any unlawful behavior in order to assist preserve the integrity of the power network.
“In August, Eskom shared its Summer Outlook for the period from 1 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,”
“While loadshedding 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 illegal 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,” Eskom said.
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