Electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa says Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF), the amount of energy available compared with installed capacity, has breached the 70% mark, a level last seen three years ago.
The minimum EAF set by energy regulator Nersa is 65%, which Eskom has in the past few years been failing to meet, at times hovering above just 53%.
Ramokgopa said the feat, made possible by no load-shedding over the past month, was a result of constant performance.
The state-owned power utility has been able to rely less on using open-cycle gas turbines and has been able to keep the lights on for longer.
The reduction in power cuts before the May 29 national and provincial elections has led some opposition political parties and market watchers to speculate that the ANC-led government is using the power crisis as a electioneering tool.
“The EAF of the country has breached the 70% mark ... It is a result of consistent performance,” Ramogkopa said.
“This has been deliberated and orchestrated ... beginning with the president’s announcement of the Energy Action Plan in July 2022, the appointment of the electricity minister, stabilisation of the Eskom management team, and the isolation of power stations that were particularly problematic and in need of special attention,” he told journalists during his weekly media briefing on Monday.
Unplanned outages have been reduced by 4,400MW since April 26 due to extensive maintenance in January and December.
“When we went into December 2023, transitioning into January, we reached the highest level of planned maintenance. We took out 18% of the total generation capacity into planned maintenance and these units are coming back.
“We said we are going to use the periods of low demand to go aggressively into planned maintenance as we prepare for the winter periods. As we go into winter, these units are coming back.”
Planned turnaround
Ramokgopa said the turnaround was planned, but not to coincide with the elections. “This is not an Eskom story. It’s a story of the sixth administration. We have disarmed those who thought they would weaponise load-shedding [before] May 29. They’ll tell you it is sudden [or that] it’s diesel.”
In his weekly newsletter, published on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa attributed the improved performance of the power utility to work by law enforcement authorities and the maintenance programme at Eskom.
“Through dedicated support from our law enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority, great strides are being made in rooting out corruption at Eskom. Work is continuing in disrupting criminal syndicates and protecting our power stations from sabotage,” he said.
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