Eskom’s diesel savings have reached R13.7 billion on an annual basis due to the suspension of load shedding for more than seven months.

In a statement on Friday, Eskom said load shedding has been suspended for more than seven months (219 consecutive days) since March 26, 2024.

“Investments in the Generation Recovery Plan have been instrumental in maintaining a stable power supply across South Africa, improving efficiency and achieving R13.7 billion in annual diesel savings.

“On Monday 28 October 2024, Eskom reached a significant milestone in operational efficiency, approaching its 70% Energy Availability Factor (EAF) target by the end of March 2025.

“This achievement was marked by the reduction of unplanned outages measured by Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) and Other Capacity Loss Factors (OCLF) to 7,299 MW. The electricity utility said Eskom last achieved a similar UCLF milestone four years ago.

This achievement follows Eskom’s latest milestone of achieving the longest uninterrupted power supply in five years, reaching the 206th day of the load shedding suspension on Saturday 19 October 2024.

“The reduction in unplanned outages means more generating capacity is available to meet the country’s electricity demand. In addition, this provides Eskom with the necessary capacity to carry out more planned maintenance activities, which are vital to further increase the reliability and stability of the generation fleet,” Eskom said.

Eskom’s EAF rose to an average of 65% last week and 63.1% year-to-date; Top performing stations including Grootvlei, Camden, Medupi, Lethabo and summit facilities achieved over 70% EAF.

Five other power plants recorded EAFs above 60%.

“As of Monday evening, an additional 4 030 MW plant is expected to come online this weekend, with six units in cold reserve to manage the balance of supply and demand,” Eskom said.

In August, Eskom shared its Summer Outlook for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a possible summer scenario with no load losses due to structural generation improvements. This view remains unchanged.

Illegal links

While load shedding remains suspended, Eskom continues to face network overload issues in some local areas due to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorized network operations, theft of network equipment and purchasing of electricity from unlicensed vendors.

“To avoid public safety hazards and the risk of network overload, which could lead to load reduction measures and long-term unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly encourages its customers to avoid illegal connections as this could negatively impact the entire local community. It is also important for customers to ensure that they purchase electricity only from authorized dealers,” the electricity utility said.

Eskom has urged the public to help protect the integrity of the electricity network by reporting illegal activity to the Eskom Crime Line on 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp on 081 333 3323.

Counter updates

Additionally, as 24 November 2024 approaches, Eskom reminded its customers to update their prepaid meters to prevent them from expiring and losing electricity.

READ | Eskom urges prepaid customers to update their meters before the November 24 deadline

The simple DIY process involves purchasing credit tokens from authorized sellers. Customers will be given two 20-digit codes that they can enter into their meters for the update. –SAnews.gov.za