By: Natasha Archary
Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa believes loadshedding is a thing of the past, saying South Africans can expect a loadshedding-free festive season and summer.
This as Eskom marked a record 128-days (4-months) of uninterrupted power supply for the first time in years, over the weekend.
Of this, 94-days of consistent power supply were during winter, the most demanding period for electricity capacity.
Expressing confidence in Eskom’s ability to keep the country’s power on, in a written parliamentary reply, Ramokgopa said Eskom’s operational efficiency continues to surpass our winter assumptions.
Loadshedding remains suspended, however load reduction remains in place across 6 provinces.
In a statement, Eskom shared their average Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 71% over the past seven days.
“There has been no loadshedding since the beginning of Eskom’s current financial year, which commenced on 01 April 2024. The last time South Africa experienced such a prolonged loadshedding suspension was over 4-year ago, between 16 March 2020 and 09 July 2020, when loadshedding was suspended for 116-days.
Six power stations—Kusile, Lethabo, Majuba, Tutuka, Matla, and Medupi—recorded an EAF greater than 70%. Additionally, three more power stations achieved an EAF above 60%. Notably, five of these stations were part of the priority list in the recovery plan.”
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