{"id":830318,"date":"2025-07-03T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-07-03T08:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=830318"},"modified":"2025-07-03T09:45:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T07:45:26","slug":"no-need-to-panic-says-eskom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/energy\/830318\/no-need-to-panic-says-eskom\/","title":{"rendered":"No need for panic, says Eskom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Eskom has reassured South Africans that the country\u2019s power system remains stable, despite a recent surge in unplanned outages that pushed the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) above the critical 15,000MW mark. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This level of breakdowns is one that Eskom previously warned could trigger widespread load-shedding during winter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the utility said the system is performing within manageable levels and load-shedding is not anticipated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The average UCLF between 13 and 19 June 2025 reached 15,076MW, exceeding the 15,000MW threshold Eskom highlighted in its Winter Outlook as the level where stage 2 load-shedding could return. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This figure was 3,144MW higher than during the same period in 2024 and 2,076MW above Eskom\u2019s base-case scenario of 13,000MW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The utility attributed the rise mainly to delays in returning two major generating units, Medupi Unit 4 and Tutuka Unit 1, to service. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It also noted that unplanned outages accounted for 29.23% of generating capacity for the financial year to date, compared to 27.51% over the same time last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite this, Eskom said it had enough generation capacity to meet electricity demand, even during peak evening periods and cold winter conditions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Friday, 27 June, Eskom reported that breakdowns at its plants stood at 15,137MW, technically breaching the threshold at which load-shedding could be expected. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the utility said it had 30,703MW of available generation capacity, plus 720MW from Kusile Unit 6, giving it more than enough to meet the forecasted peak demand of 28,810MW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom has also clarified that changes in its reporting methodology have influenced the current UCLF figure, saying it does not reflect a genuine deterioration in performance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis figure reflects technical adjustments rather than a decline in performance,\u201d said the power utility. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The adjustments explained<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The utility highlighted that one factor influencing the reported UCLF is Medupi Unit 4 (800MW), which has been offline since 2021 and was added to the UCLF calculation on 1 June 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It had previously been excluded due to its long-term recovery status. Another factor is Kusile Unit 6 (720MW), which has been reliably contributing to the grid since March 2025. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has not yet been commercially declared and is therefore not included in available capacity figures. According to Eskom, these adjustments account for a 1,520MW swing in the reported data. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn practical terms, the actual unavailable capacity due to unplanned outages was closer to 13,500MW, which remained within manageable levels,\u201d Eskom said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cCurrently, the UCLF has further decreased to 12,500MW, including the 1,520MW adjustment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The utility said the Energy Availability Factor (EAF), a key measure of how much of its power generation fleet is operational, remains just above 60%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom added that reduced planned maintenance, which is typical for this time of year, has helped improve performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom stressed that the Winter Outlook published on 5 May 2025 remains unchanged, stating that load-shedding is not expected if unplanned outages stay below 13,000MW. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If outages rise to 15,000MW, stage 2 load-shedding may be implemented, but only for a limited number of days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince 15 May 2025, no load-shedding has been implemented, and only 26 hours of load-shedding were recorded in the first quarter of the financial year 2026,\u201d the utility noted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom also addressed the use of diesel-powered generators, saying its diesel load factor currently stands at 11.3%. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThese generators are being used as intended, during peak periods, and usage is expected to decline further,\u201d the company said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Eskom reaffirmed its commitment to improving generation performance and said it continues to implement its Generation Recovery Plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFurther gains are expected as Medupi Unit 4 and Koeberg Unit 1 return online and Kusile Unit 6 moves toward full commercial operation,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eskom has responded to a recent surge in unplanned outages above the mark the utility said would trigger widespread load shedding. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":92,"featured_media":830364,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9874],"tags":[1164,1165,853],"class_list":["post-830318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-energy","tag-eskom","tag-load-shedding","tag-south-africa"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/92"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830318"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":830368,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830318\/revisions\/830368"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830364"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}