Eskom Reports R14 Billion Diesel Savings; Zero Load Shedding For Seven Months

Eskom saved over R14.6 billion as it spent 70.3% less on diesel this year compared to the same period last year due to continued focus on improving efficiency from investments in the Generation Recovery Plan.

The energy company said it spent R20.8 billion during the same time last year.

The power utility also avoided load shedding for more than seven months, with no interruptions for 226 consecutive days since March 26, SA News reported.

Further savings are expected in the coming weeks and months due to better performance from the coal fleet. Eskom seen a massive decrease in unplanned outages at its power stations, allowing them to focus more on planned maintenance.

In the past week, the average unplanned outages were 10,127 megawatts, a big drop from 16,892 megawatts during the same week last year, which is a reduction of 6,765 megawatts. This ongoing improvement in reducing unplanned outages lets Eskom carry out more planned maintenance, ensuring more power is available to meet the country's electricity demand.

The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has improved to 63.1% for the year to date, with at least four power stations reaching an EAF of over 70%

Eskom is in a strong position to meet electricity demand. By Monday evening, an additional 4,050MW is expected to be restored, with four units on cold reserve this weekend to help balance supply and demand, as per the power utility.

While Eskom continues to improve, it still faces overloading issues in some areas. These problems are caused by illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorized network operations, theft of equipment and buying electricity from unlicensed vendors.

Eskom warns that illegal connections can create safety risks and lead to network overloading, which may result in load reduction and longer unplanned power outages.

The power utility urges customers to avoid illegal connections, as they can affect the entire local community. Eskom also stresses the importance of purchasing electricity only from authorized vendors.

Last month, Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa announced that Eskom's unplanned capability loss factor (UCLF) has improved by about 5,000 megawatts, suggesting that the power system is getting healthier.