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Eskom says its Generation Operational Recovery Plan delivered another milestone
Top performing power stations like Kusile and Duvha and other ‘peaking stations’ are continuing to maintain an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of above 70%, keeping loadshedding at bay, says Eskom.
Another three power stations sustained an EAF above 60%.
Eskom said the performance of these stations has contributed to the longest stretch of uninterrupted power supply in five years.
The utility confirmed that Kusile Unit 6 and Koeberg Unit 2 will be completed by the end of December 2024, while Medupi Unit 4 is expected to return by the end of March 2025.
Eskom announced these figures and timelines on Friday (18 October), saying its Generation Operational Recovery Plan delivered another milestone, with Day 206 of loadshedding suspension on Saturday, 19 October.
Eskom reported that the EAF averaged 62% last week and 63% year-to-date.
“Operational efficiency over the past seven days has slightly declined compared to summer expectations, with unplanned outages ranging between 11,500MW and 13,900MW.
“However, today’s [Friday] unplanned outages are at 10,649MW, which is 2,351MW lower than the summer 2024 base case, indicating that operational efficiency is starting to improve compared to the past week.”
Loadshedding free summer for South Africans
Eskom said its current available generation capacity stands at 30,113MW, with an evening peak forecast of 25,862MW for 18 October 2024.
Additionally, approximately ~1,880MW of generating capacity is scheduled to return to service by the evening peak on Monday, 21 October 2024.
In August, Eskom shared its summer outlook for the period from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 31 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a loadshedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements.
It confirmed that this outlook remains unchanged.
Key performance highlights
Reduction in unplanned outages
• The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) is at 25.5% for the financial year to date (1 April 2024 to 17 October 2024), improving from 33.79% in the corresponding period last year.
• This reduction in UCLF represents a ~8.3% improvement compared to the same period last year.
Ongoing planned maintenance
Ongoing planned maintenance is at 5,798MW, aligning with Eskom’s summer maintenance strategy to further increase the reliability of the stations in preparation for winter 2025 and beyond.
Sustained EAF improvement
• The year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 17 October 2024) EAF is at 63%, a significant improvement of ~7.5% compared to the same period last year (55.5%).
• The weekly EAF has marginally improved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 61.9% from 14 October to 17 October 2024, an improvement of 4.9%.
• This improvement is primarily due to a drop in unplanned outages (UCLF and OCLF) of the generation units. |
