Eskom reports 270 days without load shedding in South Africa

Relentless blackouts finally eased up as Eskom kept the grid steady for over 270 days and stopped torching cash on emergency diesel.

Grid holds steady for 270-plus days

• Eskom has gone over 270 days without load shedding.
• Utility credits its Generation Recovery Plan for tighter plant performance.
• The last outages hit in April and May 2025.
• Families and businesses finally get consistent electricity.

System strength shows in key metrics

• Eskom reported an Energy Availability Factor of 65.04%.
• Fleet topped 70% availability on 66 days.
• Engineers have repaired aging coal units and trimmed inefficiencies.
• Economists link steady power to billions in added output.

Breakdowns dip while maintenance climbs

• Eskom logged 11 397 MW in unplanned outages last week.
• Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor sits at 23.29%.
• Planned Capacity Loss Factor rose to 15.79%.
• Strategy focuses on fixing units early to avoid bigger failures.

Diesel burn slashed and reserves ready

• Eskom cut diesel spending by R4.88 billion year to date.
• Ankerlig and Gourikwa only ran for testing.
• Cold reserve capacity stands at 3 181 MW.
• The utility planned 2 429 MW for the evening peak on 16 February.