Regardless of the abeyance in load shedding for a lot of 2024, Eskom didn’t add any new technology capability to the nationwide grid final yr, in accordance with the CSIR.
The CSIR revealed its annual report on energy technology in South Africa on Monday. In it, the state-owned industrial and scientific analysis company analysed load shedding statistics and the “power availability issue” (EAF) between 1 January and 31 December final yr.
“Demand for electrical energy from Eskom continues to pattern down,” stated Thabo Hlalele, power centre head on the CSIR, in a presentation of the report.
“The Eskom fleet’s put in capability remained unchanged in 2024 in comparison with 2023 and power generated from coal is comparatively increased because of an improved EAF. The power contribution [from independent power producers] is reasonably decrease in 2024 in comparison with 2023,” he added.
Regardless of not including any capability to the grid, Eskom didn’t undergo a from an influence deficit in 2024 as a result of whole demand additionally declined in the identical interval. Hlalele stated this has been an ongoing pattern that has been bolstered by will increase in non-public technology, together with rooftop photo voltaic.
In line with the report, Eskom’s EAF improved considerably in 2024, reaching a weekly peak of 70% in comparison with the 59.92% recorded within the earlier yr. This enchancment helped “considerably scale back” the usage of diesel mills.
Hlalele stated the rise by 5% share factors to 60% in Eskom’s annual common fleet EAF was primarily as a result of improved efficiency of its coal crops.
Deliberate upkeep
“In 2024, coal technology elevated by about 12TWh in comparison with 2023, contributing 177.9TWh of the 220TWh of whole system load,” stated Hlalele.
The deliberate capability loss issue, a measure of deliberate upkeep, was increased in 2024 in comparison with 2023, peaking at slightly below 20% of whole system capability in January and December. Hlalele stated the upper ranges of deliberate upkeep had a direct bearing on the decrease ranges of unplanned capability loss at Eskom, and thus led to decreased load shedding. Unpanned capability loss declined by 6.2 share factors to simply over 32% in 2024.
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The worst load shedding on report was in 2023, with 335 of the one year stricken by the rolling energy cuts. The advance in 2024 was dramatic: load shedding decreased by 76% in comparison with 2023. Eskom’s whole power manufacturing, in the meantime, went up by 4% and whole power demand declined by 3% to 33.8GW.
Coal’s capability issue elevated by 2.6 share factors to 50% in 2024, which had the impact of decreasing Eskom’s utilisation of diesel by 6%. The usage of diesel-burning open-cycle fuel generators represents a large expense for Eskom, and the utility has tried to keep away from this the place potential.
One of many considerations raised within the report regards the affordability of electrical energy. CSIR information exhibits that power regulator Nersa’s 12.74% tariff improve on 1 April (for direct clients) takes South Africa’s common tariff to R1.96/kWh. A ten-year comparability of the rise within the common nationwide tariff versus inflation exhibits that electrical energy costs far outpaced inflation over that point.
“The common nationwide electrical energy tariff has elevated by 190% since 2014; the will increase are increased than inflation, which averaged 5.2%/yr over the identical interval,” stated Hlalele. – © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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