Eskom celebrates more than 300 days of no load shedding

South Africa has now reached 300 consecutive days without load shedding, said Eskom on Friday. “This achievement reflects the sustained upward trajectory in plant performance, supported by an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) that is consistently above 65%, currently at 65.85% for the financial year to date (1 April 2025 to 12 March 2026), demonstrating the sustained progress in Eskom’s turnaround strategy,” said the power utility. It said 5 861MW was currently in cold reserve due to excess capacity.

To further ensure a stable electricity supply, Eskom will bring 3 330MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak on Monday. Evening peak demand is forecast at 23 858MW, with 27 652MW of available capacity, providing a healthy reserve margin above current demand. For the financial year to date (1 April 2025 to 12 March 2026), diesel expenditure is R8.58 billion lower than during the same period last year, a 57.35% reduction year on year, it said.

Year‑to‑date, diesel expenditure remains consistently below budget and is expected to remain below budget through to the end of the financial year. Eskom further reported progress in ending load reduction, as 199 160 customers were no longer affected during peak periods. Although the power system remains stable and generation capacity continues to exceed demand, illegal connections and meter tampering persist, causing infrastructure damage and posing serious safety risks, it said.

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In response, Eskom continues to implement load reduction as a temporary measure in high-risk areas to protect both communities and the electricity network. The programme targets 971 feeders and will benefit approximately 1.69 million customers across all provinces, out of Eskom’s total customer base of 7.2 million. Key interventions include the rollout of smart meters, the integration of Distributed Energy Resources, and the expansion of Free Basic Electricity support.

The total number of feeders removed from load reduction is 151. These include 16 feeders in Limpopo and Mpumalanga (46% of the target of 37), 40 in Gauteng (32% of the target of 126), 9 in the Eastern and Western Cape (60% of the target of 15), with the Western Cape achieving 100% of its target, 83 in Free State and KwaZulu-Natal (88% of the target of 94), 3 in the North West and Northern Cape (33% of the target of 9).

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