Following the recovery of the generation capacity and replenishment of emergency reserves, loadshedding will be suspended at 5:00 AM

Wednesday, 26 February 2025: Eskom is pleased to announce that loadshedding will be suspended today at 5:00 AM, following the recovery of generation capacity and the replenishment of emergency reserves.

“We maintain our guidance that loadshedding is largely behind us due to structural improvements in the generation fleet. Our focus remains on eliminating loadshedding as a structural constraint on the economy,” said Eskom Group Chief Executive, Dan Marokane.

“There will be valuable lessons to be learned from the set of multiple unit trips that were unconnected and purely technical in nature related to electrical and control system issues within auxiliary parts of our power stations,” continued Marokane.

“We remain committed to high levels of maintenance, and the results are clear. Our efforts have delivered a 99% electricity availability rate over Eskom’s current financial year, from 1 April 2024 to 21 February 2025, saving ~R17 billion in diesel costs,” said Eskom Group Executive for Generation, Bheki Nxumalo.

“Ongoing planned maintenance stands at 6 660MW in alignment with our summer period maintenance strategy, which is at increased levels in order to prepare for winter and meet license and regulatory requirements. We reaffirm our commitment to ensuring that South Africa will not return to the severe levels of loadshedding experienced in 2023,” concluded Nxumalo.

Summer Outlook Remains Unchanged

Eskom’s Summer Outlook, published on 26 August 2024, remains in effect.

Progress on Turnaround Strategy

On 30 January 2025, Eskom announced its interim results for the first six months of the 2025 financial year (1 April – 30 September 2024), reflecting significant improvements in operational performance. The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) increased to 62.96%, a notable improvement from 55.27% in the same period last year.

This improvement is primarily due to a substantial reduction of approximately 4 000MW in unplanned breakdowns and losses (UCLF), which decreased from 34.24% to 25.60%. The EAF exceeded 70% on several occasions during this period, with UCLF dropping below 20% at times.

Eskom remains dedicated to ensuring a reliable power supply for all South Africans and continuing its efforts to drive South Africa’s energy recovery.

ENDS