Generation Recovery Plan yields sustained grid stability and on-going efficiencies: Year-on-year unplanned outages drop by 1 201MW

Friday, 24 October 2025: The power system continues to be stable, resilient and reliable, as a result of the ongoing technical improvements achieved under Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan ensuring a consistent electricity supply for over 98% of the time during the current financial year.

Generation performance has improved significantly, with the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) having reached 70% and surpassing this level more than 24 times since August 2025.

From 1 to 23 October 2025, the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF)—which measures the percentage of generation capacity lost due to unplanned outages—reduced to 22.85%, reflecting a 2.81% improvement compared to 25.66% during the same period last year.

The Planned Capacity Loss Factor (PCLF), which accounts for planned maintenance, increased to 12.55%, up from 12.51% recorded the previous year. The increased planned maintenance is aligned with Eskom’s maintenance schedule and ongoing efforts to improve and maintain plant reliability and operational consistency.

During the period between 10 and 23 October 2025, Eskom recorded an average of 9 954MW in unplanned outages—an improvement from 11 155MW during the same period last year. This year-on-year reduction of 1 201MW in breakdowns reflects the growing reliability and resilience of the generation fleet.

From 1 to 23 October 2025, the EAF stood at 64.28%, an improvement from the 61.44% recorded during the same period last year. This shows an improvement of 2.84% because of reduced unplanned outages and additional generation capacity.

From 1 April to 23 October 2025, diesel expenditure remained consistently below budget, reflecting reduced reliance on the country’s diesel-powered Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) fleet, with the year-to-date load factor further decreasing to 6.06%. This trend highlights ongoing efficiency improvements, a significant reduction in dependence on diesel generation, and a sustained shift toward more cost-effective primary generation sources.

The country has gone 161 consecutive days without loadshedding, with only 26 hours recorded between 1 April and 23 October 2025.

To further strengthen grid stability, Eskom is planning to return a total of 1 715MW of generation capacity to service ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 27 October 2025, and throughout the coming week.

Eskom published the Summer Outlook on 5 September 2025, covering the period 1 September 2025 to 31 March 2026, which forecasts no loadshedding due to the structural progress in plant performance as a result of the ongoing implementation of the Generation Recovery Plan.

Key Performance Highlights:

• Year-to-date, UCLF reduced to 25.39. This reflects a week-on-week improvement of approximately 0.16% and remains 0.13% lower than the 25.52% recorded during the same period last year.

• Year-to-date, planned maintenance has averaged 5 328MW, accounting for 11.35% of total generation capacity. This reflects a slight reduction from the previous week and a 0.31% rise compared to the same period last year.

• The year-to-date EAF further increased to 62.78%, and slightly below the 62.95% recorded during the same period last year.

• From 1 April to 23 October 2025, Eskom generated 1023.67GWh from OCGT plants, with diesel expenditure totalling R6.074 billion—an increase from last year’s 947.17GWh. In the past week, diesel spending was R7.84 million at a load factor of 0.23%, which is lower than the same period last year (where spending was R21.81 million at a 0.639% load factor), highlighting sustained efficiency improvements and a significant reduction in reliance on diesel generation this year.

• The year-to-date load factor for OCGTs has decreased to 6.06%, reflecting a 0.21% decrease compared to the previous week. This figure remains higher than the 5.61% recorded during the same period last year.

Ending load reduction is underway, but communities must help safeguard transformers and infrastructure

While the system is more stable, illegal connections and meter tampering continue to strain the network, damaging equipment and creating safety risks. Load reduction remains a temporary measure in high-risk areas to protect communities and infrastructure.

Eskom is stepping up efforts to eliminate load reduction by 2027. About 1.69 million of Eskom’s 7.2 million customers across 971 feeders nationally—mainly in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal—will benefit from the plan.

Key interventions include:

• Expanding Free Basic Electricity to more households
• Installing 577,000 smart meters by 2026 to manage demand and enhance grid stability, with the remainder completed by 2027
• Deploying Distributed Energy Resources (DERs) to strengthen supply in high-demand and remote areas

Eskom calls on communities to play their part by reporting illegal connections, using electricity responsibly, and supporting these interventions. Through infrastructure upgrades, technology, and community cooperation, Eskom is building a safer, smarter, and more reliable electricity system for all South Africans.

Any illegal activity impacting Eskom’s infrastructure should be reported to the Eskom Crime Line at 0800 112 722 or via WhatsApp on 081 333 3323.

Eskom will provide an update on Friday, 31 October 2025, or promptly communicate any significant changes as soon as they occur.

ENDS