November 7, 2025

Eskom Reports 71.5% Energy Availability as Koeberg Unit 2 Receives 20-Year License Extension

Eskom's generation fleet continues to show improvement with the Energy Availability Factor (EAF) now at 71.50% month-to-date, according to the utility's latest performance report. This represents a significant 7.46% increase from the 64.04% recorded during the same period last year, as the Generation Recovery Plan shows tangible results.

South Africa has now gone 175 consecutive days without loadshedding, with the utility reporting only 26 hours of power cuts during April and May of the current financial year.

Koeberg Unit 2 Licensed for Another 20 Years

In a significant development for South Africa's energy security, the National Nuclear Regulator has approved a 20-year license extension for Koeberg Nuclear Power Station's Unit 2, which will celebrate 40 years of operation on November 9. The extension allows the nuclear unit to continue generating electricity until 2045.

Koeberg Unit 2 is currently supplying 946MW to the national grid and has maintained a perfect 100% availability for 242 consecutive days. The unit has undergone rigorous safety assessments and upgrades as part of Eskom's Long-Term Operation programme to secure this extension.

Significant Reduction in Unplanned Outages

Between October 31 and November 6, Eskom recorded an average of 7,961MW in unplanned outages, compared to 10,263MW during the same period last year. This represents a year-on-year reduction of 2,302MW in breakdowns.

The utility's Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) has improved to 16.57%, down 4.91 percentage points from 21.48% during the same period last year. Meanwhile, planned maintenance is at 11.65% of total capacity, lower than the 14.00% recorded during the same period in 2024.

Diesel Usage Drops to Zero

Perhaps the most dramatic improvement is in diesel expenditure, with Eskom reporting virtually zero diesel costs (R0.00 million) for emergency generation during the past week. This compares to R10.49 million spent during the same period last year.

Year-to-date, Eskom has generated 1,023.67GWh from its Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT) plants at a cost of R6.077 billion, slightly more than the 949.15GWh generated during the same period last year. However, the utility notes that diesel consumption has been steadily declining month-on-month since May.

Load Reduction Programme Continues

Despite system stability improvements, Eskom is still implementing load reduction in areas with high levels of illegal connections and meter tampering. The utility has begun a phased approach to eliminate load reduction by 2027, which will benefit approximately 1.69 million of Eskom's 7.2 million customers across 971 feeders, primarily in Gauteng, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and KwaZulu-Natal.

Key interventions include expanding Free Basic Electricity access, installing 577,000 smart meters by 2026, and deploying Distributed Energy Resources to strengthen supply in high-demand areas.

Outlook

Eskom's Summer Outlook, published on September 5, projects no loadshedding for the period from September 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026, based on the current trajectory of plant performance improvements.

The utility plans to return 3,890MW of generation capacity ahead of the evening peak on Monday, November 10, to ensure continued reliability. Today's evening peak demand is forecast at 23,989MW, with 27,979MW of available capacity.

While these improvements are encouraging, the system remains vulnerable to unexpected breakdowns or extreme weather events. The sustained improvement in EAF and reduction in unplanned outages suggests that Eskom's Generation Recovery Plan is gaining traction, but continued maintenance and investment will be necessary to maintain this positive trajectory.

Key Terms Explained

Energy Availability Factor (EAF): The percentage of time that a power station is available to produce electricity at full capacity. Higher is better, with world-class utilities typically maintaining EAF above 80%.

Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF): The percentage of total generation capacity lost due to unexpected breakdowns or failures. Lower is better, as it indicates fewer unexpected problems with power plants.

Planned Capacity Loss Factor (PCLF): The percentage of generation capacity temporarily offline for scheduled maintenance. This represents necessary work to keep plants running efficiently long-term.

Open Cycle Gas Turbine (OCGT): Emergency power generators that run on diesel. These are expensive to operate (about R4-6/kWh compared to coal at around R0.40/kWh) and are typically only used during severe capacity shortfalls.

Distributed Energy Resources (DERs): Smaller power generation and storage technologies (like solar panels, batteries, small wind turbines) that can be installed closer to where electricity is used, reducing the need for large transmission infrastructure.

1 Gigawatt-hour (GWh): Enough electricity to power approximately 650,000 average South African homes for one hour.