Following the suspension of no load-shedding in March last year, Eskom today marks 300 days of no power cuts.
According to the power utility, this milestone was last achieved in June 2018.
In a statement, the power utility’s Group Executive for Generation Bheki Nxumalo applauded the employees and attributed the achievement to the implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan which has delivered sustained and ongoing structural improvement in the generation fleet.
“Credit goes to all our 40 000 dedicated and skilled Eskom employees who are committed to serving South Africa.
Our sights are now firmly focussed on delivering one year without load-shedding at midnight on 26 March 2025,” said Nxumalo.
In addition, Nxumalo highlighted that the suspension of load-shedding has resulted in reducing the expenditure on diesel.
“These 300 days without load-shedding have been characterized by a significant reduction in unplanned outages, which have long been one of the biggest challenges, a notable improvement in the energy availability factor of approximately 7%, and savings in diesel expenditure of R16.42 billion,” explained Nxumalo.
The company’s CEO Dan Morakane echoed Nxumalo’s sentiments, adding that the action plan has also boosted business confidence with credit rating agencies and banks.
“Eskom’s performance recovery as a key contributor towards positive sentiments as far as South Africa’s GDP growth prospects of up to 2% are concerned.
Public sentiment is shifting, business leaders who once had to invest precious capex in self-generation have enquired whether they should revert to investing in Eskom for their power needs.
The savings we are making in diesel spend are invested in the business to drive efficiencies further and place Eskom on a path to profitability and long-term operational and financial sustainability,” remarked Morakane.