Eskom marks 156 days of constant energy supply

Eskom says it has delivered 156 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply since 26 March 2024 and load shedding remains suspended. The power utility has also achieved a R11.08 billion reduction in diesel expenditure. In a statement, Eskom said it has maintained a constant electricity supply throughout the 122-day winter period, and no load shedding has been implemented since the start of its current financial year on 1 April 2024. On August 26, Eskom announced its outlook for the summer period, 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, which detailed a likely scenario of a load shedding-free summer outlook due to structural generation improvements. 'Eskom maintained an average Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 67% over the past seven days, with the best-performing stations - Kusile, Kendal, Matimba, Medupi, Matla and the peaking stations - sustaining an EAF of above 70%. 'Additionally, the three power stations that have achieved an EAF above 60% in past week sustained this improvement. 'This is due to the continued benefits of accelerating and executing planned maintenance, partnering with the original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and the dedication of power station managers and their teams,' said Eskom. It said operational efficiency continues to surpass winter expectations, with current unplanned outages averaging between 9 800MW and 11 300MW over the past seven days. The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) continues to be on a downward trend at 25.6% for the financial year to date (01 April 2024 to 29 August 2024), improving from 34.6% in the corresponding period last year. This reduction in UCLF represents a -9% improvement compared to the same period last year. Unplanned outages of the generation units averaged 10 578MW during the past seven days, compared to 15 921MW in the corresponding week last year. With regards to planned maintenance, Eskom said ongoing planned maintenance is at 5 983MW, 'aligning with our winter maintenance strategy and bolstered by short-term maintenance to ensure co ntinuous plant reliability'. Source: South African Government News Agency