Accra:According to South African Government News Agency, Eskom has achieved 520 consecutive days without implementing load shedding, marking a significant improvement in its operational performance. The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has risen to 68.2% for the financial year to date, reaching its highest level in six years.

The power utility reported that unplanned outages have decreased by 6.67% year-on-year, which translates to 3,001MW of generation capacity being brought back online. Eskom currently holds 5,695MW of surplus capacity, which supports growth and industrialization efforts. These advancements are attributed to sustained improvements under the Generation Recovery Plan, enhancing South Africa’s energy security by reducing reliance on emergency generation and increasing generation capacity.

The refined generation capabilities have led to a decreased necessity for diesel-fired Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), with diesel costs dropping significantly by R4.87 billion to R1.18 billion compared to R6.05 billion in the same period last year.

Eskom's load reduction elimination initiative is progressing, with the utility targeting complete eradication by 2027. This program is essential to safeguarding infrastructure from overloading due to illegal connections. Currently, seven provinces have fully eliminated load reduction, and the number of affected customers has drastically decreased from 1.69 million to 193,556, representing an 88.6% reduction and affecting only 2.7% of Eskom's customer base.

Efforts continue in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal, where 80% of impacted customers have returned to normal supply. A notable intervention in these efforts is the installation of smart meters, with 521,453 already installed, covering 90% of the target in high-priority areas. Despite progress, challenges such as safety incidents and work stoppages have delayed over 122,000 planned installations.

In other developments, Eskom has updated the public on safety measures at the Koeberg Nuclear Power Station following recent testing. During maintenance activities, an electrical protection system triggered the automatic disconnection of Unit 1 from the grid. Eskom assured that there are no nuclear safety concerns, and the station remains in a safe and stable condition while detailed investigations continue.