Eskom has demonstrated a significant improvement in its performance, noting an 86% reduction in diesel fuel costs for the current fiscal year. This occurred against the backdrop of achieving an eight-year low in the number of breakdowns.
As of July 20, Eskom's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) was 80.24%, which is the best single-day figure since September 20, 2017. At the beginning of the fiscal year, the EAF reached 66.22%, representing an increase of 6.97 percentage points compared to last year, although this figure remains below Eskom's target recovery level of 70%.
The daily record is also due to temporary factors: Eskom reduced planned maintenance during the peak winter demand period, and the scheduled power loss factor for the week leading up to July 23 was 7.19%, compared to 10.74% the previous year. Fewer units sent for repair means more are available for operation, positively impacting daily figures. Overall, Eskom conducted more maintenance throughout the year, averaging 12.28% of capacity, versus 11.13%.
Reduction in Diesel Fuel Costs
A substantial improvement is observed in the decrease in unplanned outages: on July 19, they dropped to 5.89 GW, the lowest daily level since July 2, 2018. Over the entire week, they averaged 7.07 GW compared to 11.84 GW the previous year. The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), which reflects the share of the fleet taken out of service due to breakdowns, improved to 14.94% from the previous 24.66%.
Eskom estimates this annual improvement at 4.25 GW, or 35.9%. However, the company's internal average figures suggest otherwise: the difference between 11.84 GW and 7.07 GW is 4.77 GW, or 40.3%. When checking these weekly averages using UCLF percentages, both average figures suggest a fleet capacity of about 47–48 GW, which is accurate, meaning the averages are correct, and the 4.25 GW figure is an exception.
Eskom's financial calculations confirm this trend. A week before July 2, the company reported a decrease of 5.13 GW compared to average values of 9.85 GW and 14.98 GW; a week before July 9, the decrease was 5.22 GW compared to averages of 8.4 GW and 13.62 GW. Data for the week before July 23 does not align with this trend.
The correction has been favorable for Eskom. The company compared this reduction to the capacity of a large power station, such as Kusile, which produces 4.8 GW at full load. The value of 4.77 GW is close to this comparison, whereas 4.25 GW is not. Breakdown rates directly affect Eskom's expenses. For the current fiscal year, the company spent 807.4 million rand on diesel fuel, significantly less than 5.62 billion rand for the same period last year, representing an 85.6% decrease. During the period from July 17 to July 23, no diesel fuel was consumed.
Eskom's open-cycle diesel gas turbines operated at a load factor of only 1.14% for the current fiscal year, compared to 10.28% last year, which is within the planned budget of 3%. As of July 23, Eskom recorded 434 days without power outages starting from May 16, 2025, and asserts that demand was met at 100% in the current fiscal year. The winter forecast published on April 22 does not foresee outages until August 31.
The load reduction that Eskom applies locally in areas where illegal connections and meter tampering have overloaded local grids is slowing down. Six provinces have now been cleared, and about 1.2 million consumers have been removed from schedules, accounting for approximately 70% of the planned 1.7 million, after reaching one million at the beginning of this month. The seventh province is expected to be cleared by October, and complete nationwide elimination is planned for 2027.
