South Africa reached 300 consecutive days without loadshedding at midnight on 12 March 2026, marking a significant turnaround in the country’s electricity supply crisis — but consumers will face the bitter reality of an almost 9% tariff increase from 1 April.
The milestone underscores sustained improvements in Eskom’s generation fleet performance, with the Energy Availability Factor consistently above 65% and currently sitting at 65,85% for the financial year to date.
While the achievement offers relief from the rolling blackouts that plagued the country for years, South Africans will see their electricity bills rise substantially when the National Energy Regulator of South Africa-approved tariff increase takes effect in three weeks. A further 8,83% hike is scheduled for April 2027.
Generation performance shows sustained improvement
The utility recorded only 26 hours of loadshedding during the current financial year, in April and May 2025, bringing the total to 301 consecutive days without supply interruptions.
Eskom’s turnaround is reflected in a 53% decrease in average unplanned outages. Between 6 and 12 March 2026, unplanned outages averaged 7 224 MW, down from 15 382 MW during the same week last year — a reduction of 8 158 MW.
The Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor dropped to 14,85%, compared to 32,07% recorded during the same period last year. For the financial year to date, the factor decreased to 22,73%, remaining well below last year’s 25,74%.
The generation fleet has achieved or exceeded the 70% Energy Availability Factor milestone on 83 occasions since 1 April 2025.
Eskom currently has 5 861 MW in cold reserve due to excess capacity, and plans to bring 3 330 MW of generation capacity online ahead of the evening peak on Monday, 16 March 2026. Evening peak demand is forecast at 23 858 MW, with 27 652 MW of available capacity.
Diesel expenditure slashed
Diesel expenditure has decreased by R8,58 billion compared to the same period last year, representing a 57,35% reduction year on year.
Between 1 April 2025 and 12 March 2026, Eskom generated 1 075,23 GWh from its open cycle gas turbine plants at a diesel cost of R6,381 billion. This is significantly lower than the 2 498,75 GWh generated during the same period last year, which cost R14,963 billion.
Over the past week, diesel usage contributed 10,08 GWh of electricity to the grid at a cost of R59,70 million, primarily due to statutory grid code testing and to meet reserve requirements.
Load reduction programme making progress
Eskom has removed 151 feeders from load reduction as part of its phased programme to eliminate the practice by 2027. The programme targets 971 feeders and will benefit approximately 1,69 million customers across all provinces.
An estimated 199 160 customers are now benefiting from the removal of load reduction, representing 56% of the year-end target of 271 feeders.
The utility has installed 444 062 smart meters nationwide, of which 171 507 have been deployed on load reduction feeders. However, approximately 122 000 planned meter conversions have been delayed due to community resistance, including intimidation, violent incidents and work stoppages.
Free Basic Electricity beneficiaries now average 582 110 for the financial year, reflecting a 20,02% increase from the baseline of 485 000 customers.
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