Continued loadshedding suspension marked by 114 days of constant power supply, 80 of which fall within the winter season – further diesel spend efficiencies realised

Friday, 19 July 2024: Eskom is pleased to announce the further ongoing suspension of loadshedding, marking 114 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply since 26 March 2024, that include 80 days of constant supply since throughout the winter period.

The Generation Recovery Plan continues to deliver efficiencies for Eskom, with around ~R8.08 billion reduction in Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) diesel expenditure from 1 April 2024 to 18 July 2024, compared to the same period last year.

The plan continues to significantly improve the reliability, efficiency, and availability of our coal generation fleet that in turn provides a key platform for the economic recovery of the country.

The last time South Africa experienced such a prolonged loadshedding suspension was nearly four years ago, between 08 September 2020 and 11 December 2020.

Six power stations recorded an Energy Availability Factor (EAF) greater than 70%, namely, Kusile, Kendal, Matimba, Matla, Majuba and Grootvlei.

Eskom’s operational efficiency continues to surpass planned expectations, with current unplanned outages averaging at 12 800MW since 1 April 2024 – the start of Eskom’s Financial Year (FY) 2025. Today’s figure is recorded at 11 143MW and is significantly lower than the winter 2024 forecast.

The winter forecast, published on 26 April 2024, anticipated a likely scenario of unplanned outages at 15 500MW and loadshedding limited to Stage 2 – this remains in force.

Key Performance Highlights:

Reduction in unplanned outages

  • The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) has seen a decrease to 26.85% for the financial year to date (1 April 2024 to 18 July 2024), improving from 34.89% in the corresponding period last year.
  • This reduction in UCLF represents a ~8% improvement in the current financial year (1 April 2024 to 18 July 2024) as compared to the previous year in the same period.
  • The unplanned outages of the generation units averaged at 12 000MW during the past 7 days.
  • The reduction in unplanned outages contributed to the total available capacity, which is currently at 32 478MW, this is ~13% improvement compared to the same period last year.

Planned Maintenance

The ongoing planned maintenance of 4 208MW aligns with our winter maintenance strategy, bolstered by short-term maintenance to ensure continuous plant reliability.

Sustained Energy Availability Factor (EAF) improvement

  • The year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 18 July 2024) EAF increased to 62.1%. This is a significant 7.2% improvement compared to the same period last year (1 April 2023 to 18 July 2023), where the EAF was 54.91%.
  • The weekly EAF has moved from 57.0% at the beginning of the financial year to 67.38% from 15 July to 18 July 2024, a significant improvement of 10.38%.
  • Seven power stations recorded an EAF of 70% and higher, namely Camden, Kendal, Kusile, Majuba, Matimba, Medupi and Peaking.
  • The EAF improvement is primarily due to a drop in the unplanned outages of the generation units which averaged at 12 000MW during the past 7 days.

Continued strategic utilisation of Open-Cycle Gas Turbines

Our strategic use of peaking stations to effectively manage electricity demand during peak times that includes pumped storage and the (OCGTs, has been key in meeting the heightened winter demand, particularly during evening peaks (from 17:00 to 22:00).

  • Our diesel consumption remains under the projected figures for this winter and is considerably lower than the past two years from 1 April 2024 to 18 July 2024.
  • Eskom’s expenditure between 1 April and 18 July on OCGTs was R3.36 billion, generating 491.36GWh approximately 71% (~R8.08 billion) less than the R11.44 billion spent last year over the same period for 1 899.95GWh.
  • The OCGT load factor for 1 April to 18 July 2024 continued to be much less at 5.50% compared to last year’s figure of 21.27% over the same period.
  • The OCGT load factor for 1 July to 18 July 2024 was 1.96% which is significantly lower when compared to last year’s figure of 21.36% over the same period.
  • Eskom’s diesel usage remains below its published winter forecast and year-to-date budget.

A total of about 3 595MW of generating capacity is scheduled to return to service by Monday, 22 July 2024.

Eskom’s projected evening peak demand for today, Friday, 19 July 2024, is 29 209MW.

Save your transformer and save lives campaign

Eskom is facing recurring challenges of network overloading in certain regions. This issue is largely attributed to illegal connections, vandalism, meter tampering, unauthorised network operations, theft of network equipment, and the purchase of electricity from unlicensed vendors/sellers.

To avert potential dangers to public safety and the risk of network overloading which could lead to load reduction measures at any instance and extended unplanned power outages, Eskom strongly encourages customers to moderate their electricity usage during the suspension of loadshedding. It is also imperative that customers ensure their electrical connections are lawful and that they procure electricity solely from authorised vendors.

Eskom implores the public to play an active role in safeguarding the integrity of the power network by reporting any illegal activities to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp at 081 333 3323.

We will provide an update next Friday, 26 July 2024, or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur.

ENDS

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