Eskom is progressing well with the maintenance of its power generating plant whilst supplying the country’s electricity needs. No load shedding is anticipated today.

Although the energy sent out year-to-date is approximately 3% lower when compared to the same period last year, this is not the whole story of why there has not been any load shedding for over nine months now. The real story is the improved operational performance of Eskom; thanks to the leadership of the Minister of Public Enterprises Ms Lynne Brown, the stewardship of the Eskom Board, and the disciplined execution from the Eskom Guardians.

The results started showing from October 2015 on a number of key performance indicators. Plant availability increased from 70% (October 2015) to 76% (April 2016) due to better and more planned maintenance. The increase in availability is attributable to the decrease in breakdowns (unplanned maintenance) based on the ability to undertake effective maintenance and thereby improve fleet performance. Capacity has increased by 2 599MW (excluding Medupi) and 3 279 MW (including Medupi). Importantly, all the required maintenance took place whilst there was a reduction in the usage of expensive open cycle gas turbines. Diesel spend was reduced from R854 million (381 GWh) in October 2015 to R25 million (6 GWh) in April 2016.

As a result of the improved fleet performance, Eskom has excess capacity of up to 11 000 MW between 2am and 6pm in winter. We are exploring all avenues to export this excess capacity.

Going forward, we do not expect any load shedding for the rest of the year. The country will see Eskom progressively adding capacity over the next five years, with overall capacity increasing from the current 44 087 MW to 52 589 MW. The additional capacity gained will fuel the South African economy, which augurs well for economic development.

We will continue to provide regular updates on the state of the power system through various media platforms.

Issued by Eskom