Eskom Added No New Plant In 2024 Yet Lights Mostly Stayed On

The CSIR published its annual report on power generation in South Africa on Monday. In it, the state-owned industrial and scientific research agency analysed load shedding statistics and the "energy availability factor" EAF between 1 January and 31 December last year.

"Demand for electricity from Eskom continues to trend down," said Thabo Hlalele, energy centre head at the CSIR , in a presentation of the report.

"The Eskom fleet's installed capacity remained unchanged in 2024 compared to 2023 and energy generated from coal is relatively higher due to an improved EAF. The energy contribution from independent power producers is moderately lower in 2024 compared to 2023," he added.

Despite not adding any capacity to the grid, Eskom did not suffer a from a power deficit in 2024 because total demand also declined in the same period. Hlalele said this has been an ongoing trend that has been bolstered by increases in private generation, including rooftop solar.

According to the report, Eskom's EAF improved significantly in 2024, reaching a weekly peak of 70 compared to the 59.92 recorded in the previous year. This improvement helped 'significantly reduce" the use of diesel generators.