Eskom hits milestone of 100 days without loadshedding in SA

South Africa celebrates 100 days without loadshedding, thanks to Eskom's recovery plan and rigorous power plant maintenance. This marks a significant shift after years of mismanagement and power outages that hindered economic growth. The improved power supply has bolstered confidence, leading to a positive economic outlook. However, Eskom cautions that loadshedding risks remain as the country continues efforts to stabilize its electricity generation capacity..Sign up for your early morning brew of the BizNews Insider to keep you up to speed with the content that matters. The newsletter will land in your inbox at 5:30am weekdays. Register here..Join us for BizNews' first investment-focused conference on Thursday, 12 September, in Hermanus, featuring top experts like Frans Cronje, Piet Viljoen, and more. Get insights on electricity and exploiting SA's gas bounty from new and familiar faces. Register here..By Paul Burkhardt.In many nations, continuous electricity supply is taken for granted. In South Africa, it's a major milestone. .___STEADY_PAYWALL___.Read more: 🔒 FT: Eskom chair Nyati says the utility is "fixed", loadshedding over.The country has had 100 days of no so-called loadshedding, Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. said in a statement on Friday. The breakthrough is the result of a recovery plan initiated in March 2023 and "aggressive" maintenance of the company's power plants, it said..Eskom's failure to maintain its aging fleet of generating facilities, coupled with mismanagement and corruption, rendered the company incapable of meeting electricity demand and resulting in record outages last year. That hurt output at South African businesses and led to the slowest rate of expansion since the pandemic in 2020, when the economy grew 0.7%.."The absence of loadshedding not only benefits our economy and businesses but also enhances the quality of the lives of our citizens," Electricity and Energy Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said in a statement. The last time Eskom was able to deliver uninterrupted power supply for that length of time occurred between September and December 2020..Eskom, heavily indebted and facing declining revenue, has tried for years to increase repairs to coal-fired power plants that make up the backbone of its generation fleet. It received a 254 billion-rand ($14 billion) bailout in 2023 that's being given to the utility in tranches, subject to it meeting performance criteria set by the Treasury. The transfers were reduced in February..So accustomed have South Africans become to regular outages that when Eskom initially began reducing the power cuts, they were suspected to be an election ploy. Critics accused the utility of relying on generation from diesel-fueled auxiliary turbines that Eskom has spent billions of dollars a year on running them..In fact, Eskom said it spent 6.2 billion rand less on the fuel in the three months through June..The improved electricity performance is raising confidence. The South African Reserve Bank projects the economy will grow 1.2% this year, based on assumptions that include 180 days of loadshedding that it says will lower output by half a percentage point. It's open to adjusting the outlook if the lights stay on for longer.."The recent improvement in the power supply, with no loadshedding since 26 March, is a welcome development," Governor Lesetja Kganyago said on May 30. "We have revised our loadshedding assumption down, but additional revisions may be required if this performance is sustained.".While Eskom warns the danger of loadshedding remains, the situation may continue to improve. The utility plans to bring coal and nuclear units online before 2025 that would improve the proportion of available generation capacity that's dipped as low as 51% over the last year and improved to 65% this month, according to Eskom data.."It's important to remember that the coal-power fleet is old and has been under-maintained for a decade. Breakdowns remain a possibility, but for now I think these are positive strides," said Raine Adams, an investment analyst with Allan Gray Ltd., which oversees about $30 billion of assets. A change in Eskom's "remuneration structure where power station employees have been incentivised" may have also helped, she said. .More secure power supply is also resulting in some unintended consequences: imports of solar panels have slumped as fewer residences and businesses install renewable energy generators. .The escalation of outages in the last couple of years caused a surge in demand for solar panels and batteries, with the flow of photo voltaic cells and modules from China to South Africa exceeding $180 million for the month of May alone, according to data compiled by Bloomberg NEF. That's dropped considerably, with imports not exceeding $40 million since August last year, the data show..Eskom also plans to rely on coal units for longer, a move that has the government pushing to renegotiate deals worth $2.6 billion in financing tied to South Africa transitioning to cleaner source of energy. .Read also:.🔒 The Economist: Private firms are driving a revolution in solar power in SA and the rest of AfricaFight looming over new law that ends Eskom's monopolyEskom wins appeal to keep polluting coal plants running.© 2024 Bloomberg L.P.

Eskom hits milestone of 100 days without loadshedding in SA

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