S/Africa’s Eskom promises full power supply in 4 months

South African state utility, Eskom on Monday said that it was optimistic about power outlook in the country as there would be no electricity cuts in the next four months.

Eskom’s difficulties in supplying power to Africa’s biggest economy have curbed economic growth for more than a decade.

However, a turnaround in its plant performance in 2024 saw no cuts for nine months, including throughout the winter.

Chief Executive, Dan Marokane in a briefing said that Eskom expected that there would be no electricity cuts until the end of August if unplanned outages remained below 13,000 megawatts, its base case.

”If outages increase to 14,000 MW there will be a day of outages till the end of August, rising to 21 days if unplanned outages reach 15,000 MW,” Marokane said.

He revealed that Eskom had a nominal generating capacity of more than 46,000 MW as of March 2024, comprising mostly of coal plants, but it also operated a nuclear power station and some smaller plants that burnt diesel or use water to generate electricity.

Marokane said the power system was in a more reliable position than in recent years.

He called the 14 days of power cuts between January-April a temporary setback and maintained electricity availability was improving.

“This year’s winter outlook prediction is built on an improvement in operational performance and overall efficiency,’’ he added.