Eskom Announces 107 Days of Uninterrupted Power Supply Amid Winter Challenges

Friday, 12 July 2024: Eskom has proudly announced a significant milestone—107 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply, marking a rare period of stability for the national grid. This streak includes 73 days within the winter season, a time when electricity demand traditionally surges.

Sustained Energy Availability Factor (EAF) Improvement

• The year-to-date EAF (1 April 2024 to 11 July 2024) has risen to 61.8%, a notable 7% improvement compared to the same period last year (1 April 2023 to 11 July 2023), when the EAF was 54.76%.
• The weekly EAF has moved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 66.44% from 8 July to 11 July 2024, a significant improvement of 9.44%.
• The primary driver for this improvement is a reduction in the unplanned outages of generation units, which averaged at 11,950 MW during the past seven days.

Strategic Utilization of Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs)

• Eskom’s strategic use of peaking stations, including pumped storage and OCGTs, has been crucial in meeting heightened winter demand, particularly during evening peaks from 17:00 to 22:00.
• Diesel consumption remains within the projected figures for this winter and is significantly lower than the past two years from 1 April 2024 to 11 July 2024.
• Eskom’s expenditure on OCGTs between 1 April and 11 July 2024 was R3.33 billion, generating 487.16 GWh—approximately 70% less than the R10.98 billion spent last year for 1,822.67 GWh.
• The OCGT load factor for 1 April to 11 July 2024 was 5.83%, compared to last year’s figure of 21.81%.
• The OCGT load factor for 1 July to 11 July 2024 was 2.74%, which is lower when compared to last year’s figure of 26.37%.
• Diesel usage remains below Eskom’s published winter forecast and year-to-date budget.

Planned Maintenance

• The ongoing planned maintenance of 4,801 MW aligns with Eskom’s winter maintenance strategy, bolstered by short-term maintenance to ensure continuous plant reliability.

Mitigating Network Overload, Ensuring Public Safety and Extended Unplanned Power Outages

• With the arrival of colder weather and the consequent increase in electricity demand, Eskom faces recurring challenges of network overloading in certain regions. This issue is largely attributed to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorized network operations, theft of network equipment, and the purchase of electricity from unlicensed vendors/sellers.
• To avert potential dangers to public safety and the risk of network overloading, which could lead to load reduction measures and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly encourages customers to moderate their electricity usage during the suspension of load shedding.
• It is imperative that customers ensure their electrical connections are lawful and that they procure electricity solely from authorized vendors.

Key Points on Load Reduction

• Load reduction is not load shedding.
• Load reduction is implemented in areas identified as high-risk due to increased energy consumption.
• Implementation will occur during peak hours when demand is highest.
• Communication with our customers will be maintained.
• Efforts will be made to restore full power as quickly as possible once the risk decreases.
• Customers should not report faults during load reduction periods and should treat all installations as live and dangerous.

While Eskom aims to exclude paying customers from load reduction, the network’s configuration does not allow for dedicated supply lines to paying customers, making it impractical to service them separately.

To prevent load reduction and abrupt loss of supply, customers are urged to reduce their consumption, ensure that the electricity they consume is legally connected, paid for, and purchased from legal vendors, and report illegal activities. Additionally, customers are encouraged to switch off non-essential appliances, such as heaters and geysers, and use alternative heating methods.

For tips on reducing the electricity demand of a home or business, visit www.eskom.co.za/eas/energy-saving-tips.

Customers are urged to report criminal activities such as illegal connections, theft, and vandalism that can damage transformers, mini-substations, and other electricity infrastructure to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722.

Eskom will provide an update next Friday, 19 July 2024, or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur.