Eskom's EAF Hits 67.78%, Six-Year High, Cuts Diesel Cost

Eskom's Energy Availability Factor (EAF) reached 67.78% for the financial year to date, its highest level in six years, while diesel expenditure fell by R4.80 billion, or 80.94%, compared with the same period last year, the utility said in an update covering April 1 to September 10, 2026.

The EAF, a measure of how much of Eskom's total generation capacity is actually available to produce electricity, improved 6.07 percentage points from 61.71% recorded over the same period last year. Unplanned outages declined from 26.61% to 19.43% year-on-year, and improved fleet reliability has restored 3,500MW of generation capacity to the grid this year.

Compared with the same period three years ago, Eskom's EAF has improved by 12.6%, returning about 6,098MW of generating capacity to the grid, with more than half the coal fleet now operating at EAF levels between 61.4% and 96.5%.

Diesel spending drops as coal fleet performance improves

Diesel expenditure fell from R5.93 billion to R1.13 billion over the period, as the Open-Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) load factor, a measure of how intensively Eskom's diesel-fired backup generators are being used, dropped sharply from 7.56% to 1.11%. OCGT generation for the year to date stands at 146.81 gigawatt-hours, about 85.33% lower than the same period last year.

Comparing full financial years, diesel expenditure fell by a cumulative R23 billion between the year ended March 2023 and the year ended March 2026.

South Africa has now recorded 483 consecutive days without loadshedding since May 16, 2025, which Eskom attributed to the combined effect of improved plant performance, fewer unplanned outages, added generation capacity and reduced reliance on emergency diesel generation.

Emissions from coal fleet fall sharply

Eskom also reported a marked improvement in environmental performance. Particulate matter emissions from its coal fleet fell to 0.32 kilograms per megawatt-hour sent out, beating the utility's target of 0.35 kilograms for the current financial year and down sharply from 0.96 kilograms recorded at the end of the previous financial year on March 31, 2026, an improvement of about 67%.

Eskom said it has been performing below its particulate matter target since October 2025, attributing the gains to its generation recovery plan. Twelve of Eskom's 14 coal-fired power stations are now meeting their individual emissions targets, with targeted interventions under way at the remaining two.

Load reduction programme nears 6.5% remaining impact

Eskom's Load Reduction Eradication Programme, a separate initiative from loadshedding that targets areas with high illegal connections and infrastructure overloading, has restored around 1.2 million customers to normal supply conditions, reducing the share of Eskom customers still affected by load reduction to 6.5%.

Seven of South Africa's nine provinces remain fully free of load reduction, and Eskom said it remains on track to eliminate load reduction nationally by March 2027.

Under the programme, 513,022 smart meters have been installed against a target of 577,347, with installations concentrated in Gauteng, Mpumalanga, Limpopo and KwaZulu-Natal.

Eskom said resistance in some communities, including safety incidents, intimidation and work stoppages, has delayed more than 122,000 planned installations.

A total of 571 of the 971 feeders targeted under the programme have been removed from load reduction, benefiting an estimated 1,222,430 customers, about 72% of the 1.69 million customers the programme is designed to reach.

Eskom said its Summer Outlook and an update on overall power system status would be published later in September, which will offer an early indication of whether the current gains in reliability and diesel savings can be sustained heading into the higher-demand summer period.