Eskom latest: Generation improves, off-peak blackouts suspended

Eskom’s electricity generation capacity has improved over the past three weeks due to fewer breakdowns as management deploys more experienced technicians to various power stations, Eskom generation executive Eric Shunmagum said in an interview on 702 radio on Monday.

“In terms of the generation performance, when you compare the actual breakdown trends, you see a remarkable difference,” he said. “We’ve actually clawed back 3 000 megawatts on breakdowns and this has definitely helped.”

The utility’s energy availability factor has also increased over the past three weeks to around 60% and may reach 70% by the end of the year, Shunmagum said.

Power cuts suspended during off-peak (June 25, 3:45 p.m.)

The utility will remove 3 000 megawatts of power from the national grid during the evening peak periods and suspend electricity rationing from midnight until 4 p.m. throughout the week until further notice after some generating units were returned to service over the weekend.

Generation unit to hold most debt (June 23,  p.m.)

South Africa’s plan to split state power utility Eskom into three units envisions most of its R439 billion of debt being allocated to the generation business, which utilised most of the money.

About R40 billion of debt will be held by the transmission unit, which is expected to be established this year, and R30 billion by the distribution unit, with the balance going to the generation division, Eskom said.

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