South Africa has now gone 520 days without load shedding as Eskom reports stronger generation performance, lower diesel use and fewer unplanned outages nationwide this year.
The power utility says its Energy Availability Factor has reached 68.2% for the financial year to date, the highest level recorded in six years.
Unplanned outages have also improved by 6.67% year-on-year, equivalent to around 3 001MW of generation capacity returning to service.
Eskom says it currently has 5 695MW of surplus generation capacity available, creating additional security for the electricity system while supporting economic activity and industrial growth.
“These gains reflect sustained operational improvements under the Generation Recovery Plan,” Eskom said.
The utility attributed the improvement to stronger fleet performance, reduced unplanned outages, additional generation capacity and a lower dependence on emergency generation.
There is, however, a discrepancy within Eskom’s latest update. While the overall statement records 520 days without load shedding, a quoted section refers to 518 consecutive days since 16 May 2025.
One of the clearest financial benefits has been the reduced use of diesel-fired Open-Cycle Gas Turbines.
Diesel expenditure fell by R4.87 billion to R1.18 billion, compared with R6.05 billion during the corresponding period last year.
Beyond generation performance, Eskom is also continuing efforts to eliminate load reduction, which remains a major challenge in communities where electricity infrastructure is overloaded through illegal connections and electricity theft.
Unlike load shedding, which is implemented because the national system does not have enough generation capacity, load reduction is used in specific areas to prevent transformers and other local infrastructure from being damaged through excessive demand.
Seven provinces have now achieved full elimination of load reduction.
The number of affected customers has dropped from approximately 1.69 million to 193 556, representing an 88.6% reduction and leaving around 2.7% of Eskom customers still affected.
The remaining impact is concentrated in parts of Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal.
Eskom says approximately 80% of customers previously affected in those two provinces have already returned to normal supply as work continues toward completely eliminating load reduction by 2027.
Smart meters form a major part of that strategy.
Some 521 453 smart meters have already been installed on load-reduction feeders, representing approximately 90% of Eskom’s target of 577 347 installations in high-priority areas.
Around 83% of these installations are concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal, where pressure on electricity networks is highest.
The rollout is targeting areas affected by illegal connections, electricity theft and infrastructure overloading.
Progress has not been without resistance.
Eskom says safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages in some communities have delayed more than 122 000 planned installations, despite ongoing engagement with residents, ward councillors and other stakeholders.
The utility has also provided an update on Koeberg Nuclear Power Station following testing conducted during planned maintenance on Unit 2.
During the testing process, an electrical protection system associated with Unit 1 detected a disturbance outside permitted limits and automatically disconnected the unit from the grid.
Eskom said the protection system operated as designed and engineering teams are investigating the cause of the event and whether corrective action is required.
“There are no nuclear safety concerns associated with this event. All nuclear safety systems remain fully operational, and Koeberg Nuclear Power Station remains in a safe and stable condition,” Eskom said.
The improvement in generation performance has wider implications beyond keeping household lights on. More reliable electricity reduces disruption for schools, healthcare facilities, small businesses, manufacturers and communities, while billions saved on emergency diesel generation can reduce pressure on the electricity system.
The next challenge for Eskom will be sustaining those improvements while ensuring communities still affected by overloaded local networks experience the same reliability increasingly being seen across the national grid.
