South Africans may have noticed a welcome change lately—fewer blackouts and more stable electricity.
That’s because Eskom, the country’s power utility, has been quietly putting in the work behind the scenes.
While load shedding remains suspended for now, Eskom says it’s all thanks to a more reliable power system and intensive planned maintenance efforts.
Let’s break down what’s happening and why this matters heading into the chilly winter months.
More Maintenance, Less Chaos
Eskom is keeping up a high level of planned maintenance to get the power grid in shape for winter, when electricity demand tends to spike.
Currently, nearly 7,400 megawatts of capacity are undergoing scheduled maintenance, which is actually up by almost 4% compared to the same time last year.
Meanwhile, unplanned breakdowns—those surprise outages that used to wreak havoc—have actually dropped by around 2.9% year-on-year. That’s a big deal.
The utility says these efforts are part of a broader push to improve the long-term reliability of its aging fleet while also sticking to environmental regulations.
Better Numbers Than Last Year
There are some impressive improvements worth mentioning. For example:
- From April 1 to 10, the average unplanned outages were at 13,578MW, which is much better than the same period last year.
- Just last week, Eskom brought the number of breakdowns down by over 2,000MW, currently sitting at 11,564MW.
- The power grid had 28,662MW of capacity ready to go, while the demand for Friday night was expected to hit 26,788MW—so we’re finally producing more than we’re using.
- Planned maintenance sits at 14.85% of capacity so far this year, up from 11.03% in 2024.
- The Energy Availability Factor (EAF)—which reflects how much power is available—dropped slightly to 56.11%, but that’s mostly due to more maintenance.
Diesel Use Still High, But Trending Down
Eskom is still relying on diesel to power its Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), which help meet peak demand.
In the past 30 days alone, Eskom spent R3.6 billion on diesel—still a hefty amount, but actually 2.5% less than the previous month.
Between April 1 and 10, R1.34 billion was used for fuel to generate over 228GWh of electricity.
That’s a major jump compared to the same time in 2024, when just over 64GWh was produced.
As maintenance work winds down, those numbers are expected to level off.
Even so, the OCGT load factor—basically how hard those turbines are working—climbed to nearly 30% in early April. That’s way higher than the 9% recorded in 2024.
Eskom’s Reminder to the Public
With fewer outages and better grid performance, Eskom is asking the public to do their part.
The utility is urging residents to steer clear of illegal electricity connections and to buy power only from trusted, Eskom-accredited vendors.
They’re also encouraging eligible households to register for free basic electricity with their local municipality.
According to Eskom, these steps can help prevent transformer overloads, equipment damage, and even explosions caused by tampering.
And if you see suspicious activity near power infrastructure? Report it.
You can call the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or send a tip-off on WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.
A Glimmer of Hope?
For the first time in a long while, Eskom seems to be on the right path.
While there’s still a long road ahead, the latest figures offer a bit of relief as we brace for winter.