Eskom is set to publish figures showing a R15-billion annual loss, the Financial Times reported on Saturday (paywall).
The loss is largely due to Eskom spending R33-billion on buying diesel, which is burnt in open-cycle gas turbines to keep the lights on, the report said.
The utility, which recorded a full-year loss of R23.2-billion in the 2023 financial year, will release financial results for the year-to-March later this year, the FT said.
CEO Dan Marokane told the newspaper that an end to electricity blackouts meant Eskom could be profitable next year.
“We saw record use of diesel last year, hence record losses,” he said. “But we’ve really cut down on diesel, so we should see a substantial financial improvement this year. If we maintain our trajectory, there’s no reason we shouldn’t even see a profit.”
Eskom did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The company said on 5 July that it had achieved 100 consecutive days without load shedding, adding that the last time South Africa had a period that long without load shedding was in late 2020.
Ending power cuts
Marokane said last month that Eskom’s priority was bringing an end to the power blackouts that have devastated the economy.
Eskom has paused the blackouts in the past few months due to better maintenance of its coal fleet and power generation from 5GW of private solar installations. — Rishabh Jaiswal, (c) 2024 Reuters