Eskom has announced that it has entered the New Year with a “structurally stronger system” than it has in five years.
The power utility said this was the result of the implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan which commenced in April 2023.
Eskom comes into 2026 with an additional 4400 MW of capacity available than it did last year.
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“The big picture through the peaks and troughs of delivering the Generation Recovery Plan is that Eskom has moved from a heavily constrained power system to an increasingly stable one, a power system that can reliably deliver 24/7, 365 baseload power,” Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane said.
Results of the delivery of the plan include:
- The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has risen from 56.03% to 64.55%. During the current financial year, from 1 April 2025 to date, the fleet has achieved or exceeded the 70% benchmark on 55 occasions.
- Scheduled maintenance, also known as Planned Capacity Loss Factor (PCLF), reached a high of 12.76% in Financial Year (FY) 2025 following an intensive period of maintenance, and is currently at 9.32%, trending towards the global-best practice for power systems.
- The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) declined from 31.92% to 16.02%.
- The savings from diesel usage in FY 2025 were around R16 billion and continues to decrease in FY 2026, due to the reliability of the coal fleet increasing, enabling the safe reduction in the use of the open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), which play a vital role in providing emergency support during periods of supply shortage.
“We will now maintain and build upon these early gains through a rigorous focus on operational reliability and sustainability.
“It has been ‘short-term pain for long-term gain’, and I would like to thank the country for its understanding and support, as well as our employees for continuing to deliver on our strategy,” Marokane added.
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Furthermore, the R254 billion Eskom Debt Relief package provided by government has reduced the pressure on the power utility’s balance sheet and allowed it to carry out essential maintenance and investment into the fleet.
“A reliable power system is not just measured in megawatts; it is measured in investor confidence.
“The impact of Eskom’s improved performance has contributed towards South Africa receiving its first credit rating upgrade in two decades and the risk rating associated with Eskom’s 2033 bonds has dropped, providing early indicators to investors warming to the turnaround,” Marokane noted.