Eskom records minor improvement of unplanned outages

Eskom records minor improvement of unplanned outages

Eskom says there is a minor improvement, in the average unplanned power outages in the country.

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According to the power utility, the average unplanned outages over the past week stood at 14,376 megawatts - a minor improvement when compared to the same period last year. 

Spokesperson Daphne Mokwena says, to meet demand under these circumstances, they relied on a higher Open-Cycle Gas Turbine load factor for the period under review. 

"Eskom's Koeberg Nuclear Power Station has seen Unit 2 sending 930MW and more to the grid on some days since its return to service following a scheduled long-term outage," says Mokoena, "resulting in an average Energy Availability Factor (EAF) of 99.95% since the unit returned to service." 

Another milestone, is the return of Unit 6 at the Kriel power station in Mpumalanga, "adding 475MW back into the grid today after it tripped on 03 November 2024 due to the loss of hydraulic oil to the turbine valves as a result of a broken oil pipe causing an oil spill on the hot surfaces of the turbine."

Mokoena says unplanned outages averaged at 12,000 megawatts, remaining below the summer base case of 13,000 megawatts by 960 megawatts.

"In August, Eskom shared its summer outlook for the period from 01 September 2024 to 31 March 2025, predicting a likely scenario of a loadshedding-free summer due to structural generation improvements. This outlook remains unchanged.

As of today, unplanned outages stand at 12 566MW, while available generation capacity is 28 145MW, sufficient to meet tonight's forecasted peak demand of 24 636MW. The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) is at 25.22% for the financial year-to-date (1 April 2024 to 16 January 2025), improving from 32.78% in the corresponding period last year. This represents a 7.6% improvement," she adds. 

Mokwena furthermore highlights, that Eskom has reached 296 consecutive days without implementing loadshedding since 26 March last year - and they expect the trajectory to continue. 

"On Monday 20 January at midnight, Eskom will reach 300 days of loadshedding suspension for the South African economy, a milestone not seen since June 2018. This performance has also resulted in year-to-date diesel savings of R16.42 billion (on a year-on-year basis), which is about 62.9% less than the R26.09 billion spent during the same period last year, as a result of the continued execution of the Generation Operational Recovery plan."

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