The South African power utility says it has saved more than R12 billion in diesel expenditure thanks to a loadshedding-free winter period, Cape {town} Etc reports.
Also read: SA Reserve Bank says end of loadshedding may boost growth
As of 6 September 2024, Eskom achieved 163 consecutive days of uninterrupted power supply since 26 March 2024.
The milestone was last reached six years ago in 2018 despite the highest contracted demand peaking at 33 385MW on 9 July 2024.
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‘As Eskom enters a competitive electricity market, it has not only delivered a winter free of loadshedding, but it has done so by being efficient and saving over R10 billion in diesel spend that will be a strong driver to a possible return to profit in our current financial year (FY25),’ said Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane.
‘Globally, market reforms as we are going through in South Africa generally led to lower electricity prices and Eskom will absolutely compete on that basis.’
‘The winter performance demonstrates what this company is capable of as we undertake our further strategic initiatives and re-affirms Eskom as worthy of further future investment to serve South Africa and drive economic growth,’ he added.
Eskom has also not used its open cycle gas turbines (OCGTs) for the past seven days, resulting in a diesel expenditure of R3.62 billion between 1 April and 5 September.
This is a 77% reduction compared to the R15.74 billion spent during the same period in 2023.
Over the past week, the power utility’s energy availability factor (EAF) averaged at 66%.
Top-performing stations, including Kusile (Mpumalanga), Grootvlei (Mpumalanga), Kendal (Mpumalanga), Lethabo (Free State) and Matla (Mpumalanga), as well as the peaking stations, maintained an EAF above 70%.
‘The continued improvement in the generation fleet’s performance is attributed to the recovery plan, accelerated maintenance, collaboration with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), and the dedication of power station managers and their teams,’ Eskom said in a statement.
As of 6 September, Eskom’s available generation capacity is 30 643MW.
Its loadshedding-free summer outlook remains in place due to ‘structural generation improvements’.
As per its latest data, the unplanned capacity loss factor (UCLF) continues a downward trend at 25.4% for the financial year to date. This equates to a 9% improvement compared to last year.
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Also read:
Eskom plans to end loadshedding permanently with improved output
Picture: Oliver B / Unsplash