Eskom Delivers Load Shedding-Free Winter across South Africa

Eskom has kept South Africa's power grid stable through the entire 2026 winter without any load shedding, fulfilling a projection it made at the start of the season, as the utility's Energy Availability Factor rose to 67.79%, its highest level since 2020.

The Energy Availability Factor, a measure of how much of Eskom's total generation capacity is actually available to produce electricity, improved even as heavy overcast skies cut into rooftop solar generation during the season, the utility said. Eskom attributed the stability to a broader turnaround in its generation performance, with unplanned outages falling from 34.48% to 19.47% year-to-date. Together, these improvements have restored 6,888MW of generation capacity to the grid compared with three years ago, almost equivalent to the combined capacity of the Kusile and Kriel power stations.

Diesel use falls as fleet performance improves

The gains allowed Eskom to meet winter demand while significantly cutting its reliance on diesel-fired Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs), generating units typically used as a costly backup when the main power fleet cannot meet demand. South Africa has now gone 476 days without load shedding, which Eskom said reflects improved plant reliability, fewer breakdowns and a strengthened maintenance programme.

"The scale of this recovery reflects the success of Eskom's disciplined maintenance programme and operational improvements in restoring fleet performance and system resilience," the utility said, adding that the improvements are strengthening energy security, supporting economic growth and delivering a more reliable electricity supply. Eskom said meeting winter demand under these conditions shows the impact of sustained structural and operational changes across its generation fleet, and reflects a power system increasingly built on stronger day-to-day plant performance rather than short-term emergency measures.

Load reduction programme also shows gains

Eskom's Load Reduction Eradication Programme, a separate initiative targeting areas with high illegal connections and overloaded infrastructure rather than the nationwide restrictions used during load shedding, has also made progress, with about 1.2 million customers restored to normal supply conditions. Seven of South Africa's nine provinces are now completely free from load reduction.

According to Eskom, an estimated 1,222,430 customers, or about 72% of the 1.69 million targeted under the programme, are no longer affected by load reduction. That includes 670,785 customers in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, 268,902 in Gauteng, 29,812 in the Eastern and Western Cape, 202,703 in KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State, and 50,228 in the North West and Northern Cape.