Forty-six days of zero load shedding is likely to be extended to at least 53 days after Eskom said the sustained improvement in generation has continued.

In a statement late on Sunday, the state-owned electricity utility said the improvement is mainly the result of “continued, sustained improvement in generating performance owing to extensive planned maintenance during the summer period and the implementation of the generation operational recovery plan, which commenced in March 2023”.

The company said it does not expect to implement load shedding at all this week – barring any major unforeseen problems.

“The concerted efforts to address unplanned outages, also known as the unplanned capacity loss factor (UCLF), have resulted in a further reduction in the UCLF from 11 036MW to 10 474MW week on week,” Eskom said in the statement.

“This is proof that our generation fleet is gradually becoming more reliable. This commendable performance is better than the winter forecast for this year, which anticipated unplanned outages to range from 14 000MW to 15 500MW.”

Eskom said its current planned maintenance of some 3 400MW is “consistent with the amount of maintenance performed in winter in previous years”.

“There has been no increased usage in the open-cycle gas turbines again this week,” it said.

Election

On Friday, Eskom rubbished a report in the Mail & Guardian that suggested it was keeping the lights on ahead the 29 May election by burning through its diesel budget. Eskom chairman Mteto Nyati has repeatedly denied that the improvement in the load shedding picture has anything to do with the upcoming poll, in which the ANC is expected to lose its majority for the first time.

“Eskom power station GMs and their teams are working diligently to ensure the recovery of additional generating capacity by bringing units from unplanned outages and planned maintenance back into service as soon as possible. A total of 1 520MW of generating capacity is planned to be returned to service by Monday,” the company said in Sunday’s statement. – © 2024 NewsCentral Media