Monday, 12 January 2026: The results of Eskom’s Generation Recovery Plan that commenced in April 2023 have enabled South Africa to return from the holiday break to a structurally stronger system entering 2026 than in five years, with an additional 4 400MW of capacity available compared to this time last year. Stability is reflected not only in terms of structural improvements in the generation fleet, but in fewer emergency interventions and improved maintenance discipline.
Since April 2023, the results of the delivery of the plan include:
- The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) has risen from 56.03% to 64.55%. During the current financial year, from 1 April 2025 to date, the fleet has achieved or exceeded the 70% benchmark on 55 occasions.
- Scheduled maintenance, also known as Planned Capacity Loss Factor (PCLF), reached a high of 12.76% in Financial Year (FY) 2025 following an intensive period of maintenance, and is currently at 9.32%, trending towards the global-best practice for power systems.
- The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) declined from 31.92% to 16.02%.
- The savings from diesel usage in FY2025 were around R16 billion and continue to decrease in FY26, due to the reliability of the coal fleet increasing, enabling the safe reduction in the use of the open-cycle gas turbines (OCGTs), which play a vital role in providing emergency support during periods of supply shortage.
“The big picture through the peaks and troughs of delivering the Generation Recovery Plan is that Eskom has moved from a heavily constrained power system to an increasingly stable one, a power system that can reliably deliver 24/7, 365 baseload power. We will now maintain and build upon these early gains through a rigorous focus on operational reliability and sustainability. It has been ‘short-term pain for long-term gain’, and I would like to thank the country for its understanding and support, as well as our employees for continuing to deliver on our strategy,” said Dan Marokane, Eskom Group Chief Executive.
The passing of the Eskom Debt Relief Act in 2023 provided R254 billion to significantly reduce the financial pressure on Eskom’s balance sheet. This enabled Eskom to make vital investments and conduct planned and preventative maintenance, improving operational efficiency and reliability, the results of which South Africa is experiencing today.
“A reliable power system is not just measured in megawatts (MW); it is measured in investor confidence. The impact of Eskom’s improved performance has contributed towards South Africa receiving its first credit rating upgrade in two decades and the risk rating associated with Eskom’s 2033 bonds has dropped, providing early indicators to investors warming to the turnaround,” continued Marokane.
Eskom data sources
The Eskom data portal provides a 24/7 365 snapshot of system performance. [Eskom Data Portal].
Since May 2024, Eskom has released a detailed power system update every Friday, providing a consolidated view of key areas of its generation performance through the Media Desk and across its social media platforms. This is a deliberate effort to improv transparency.
ENDS