Johannesburg: Eskom reports that its generation fleet is demonstrating significant momentum, with over half of its coal-fired power stations achieving an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of more than 70%. Notably, three of these stations are operating at an impressive EAF exceeding 90%.
According to South African Government News Agency, the power utility stated, “The power system continues to operate reliably, supported by an improved Energy Availability Factor, which reflects progress in plant performance and enables Eskom to meet winter electricity demand effectively.” Eskom further explained that when system constraints occur, they are managed through the targeted use of emergency reserves during peak periods in the morning and evening.
South Africa has experienced a stable power supply since May of this year, with no load shedding incidents reported. Eskom highlighted that with 30 days remaining in its winter outlook period, the system is well-positioned to maintain stability and meet demand effectively. As of the recent update, unplanned outages are at 8,525MW, marking the lowest level in recent history, just surpassing the 8,258MW recorded on October 28, 2024. The available generation capacity currently stands at 30,882MW.
The power utility is also planning to reintegrate approximately 3,075MW back into the grid over the next week. Between April 1 and July 31, 2025, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF), indicating the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unplanned outages, has decreased to 28.58%. This marks a week-on-week improvement of about 0.4%, though it remains approximately 2.3% higher than the 26.28% recorded during the same period last year. As of Thursday, the UCLF dropped below the 20% threshold, reaching 19.94%, signaling a significant and consistent improvement in generation performance.
Eskom’s Winter Outlook, covering the period ending August 31, 2025, remains valid, indicating that load shedding will not be necessary if unplanned outages stay below 13,000MW. If outages rise to 15,000MW, load shedding would be limited to a maximum of 21 days out of 153 days and restricted to Stage 2.