Eskom power update for the week starting Monday, 11 November 2024

Eskom continues its streak of uninterrupted power supply, with loadshedding remaining suspended for 229 consecutive days as of Monday, 11 November 2024. 

Story Summary:

• Loadshedding has been suspended for 226 days as of 11 November 2024.
• Eskom’s EAF stands at 65.2% for the past week, improving operational efficiency.
• Low likelihood of loadshedding due to available capacity meeting peak demand forecasts.

Loadshedding outlook for this week: Here’s what to expect

Thanks to ongoing improvements in the Generation Recovery Plan, Eskom has achieved substantial operational gains, allowing it to meet South Africa’s electricity demands while simultaneously reducing reliance on costly emergency diesel generation.

Diesel savings now total approximately R14.6 billion compared to the same period last year.

Eskom’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF) averaged 65.2% over the past week, up from a year-to-date average of 63.1% and representing a 7.5% improvement from the previous year.

High-performing stations like Medupi, Camden, Tutuka, and Kusile, along with other peaking facilities, are sustaining EAFs above 70%, with four other stations recording EAFs over 60%.

Unplanned outages have also reduced, with the weekly average falling to 10,127MW, significantly down from last year’s 16,892MW over the same period.

This decline in outages allows Eskom to conduct more planned maintenance, ensuring continued system stability and reliability.

Here’s the loadshedding schedule starting Monday, 4 November 2024

Here is the official loadshedding schedule:

Readers from these metros can check the latest loadshedding schedule below:

• City of Johannesburg
• City of Ekurhuleni 
• City of Tshwane 
• City of Cape Town
• Nelson Mandela Bay
• eThekwini
• Manguang
• Buffalo City

What is the average demand expected to be this week?

Given Eskom’s current generation performance and available capacity, the likelihood of loadshedding this week remains low.

The utility has an available generation capacity of 28,883MW, comfortably covering the forecasted peak demand of 26,321MW for this week.

Additionally, 4,050MW of generating capacity is scheduled to return online by Monday evening, providing extra support to meet electricity demand.

Eskom has minimised its use of Open Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs) to meet peak demands, resulting in substantial diesel savings—spending only R6.2 billion so far this financial year, a 70.3% reduction from last year’s costs.