Eskom’s recent successes in stabilising national power supply have raised hopes of a broader economic recovery, contributing to a potential 2% growth in South Africa’s GDP.

The utility has surpassed 200 days without load shedding. This achievement is due to the Generation Operational Recovery Plan, which has reduced unplanned outages by approximately 8,6% and increased the energy availability factor by around 7,7%.

“The plan is projected to contribute to a potential ~2% growth in the South African economy and improve Eskom’s financial performance for the financial year 2025 (April 1, 2024 to March 31, 2025),” Eskom said in a statement.

However, not all the success can be attributed to Eskom’s generation plan, said an energy expert at the University of Johannesburg, Hartmut Winkler. “One of the factors that enabled Eskom to avoid load shedding was that electricity demand from the utility for the first half of 2024 was lower than the corresponding period in 2023. This likely indicates more entities turning to solar rooftop power,” he told Energize.

Renewables and restructuring

A critical part of Eskom’s strategy involves the integration of renewable energy. The utility is fast-tracking construction of over 2 GW of renewable energy plants as part of its Just Energy Transition strategy. Solar PV and wind power projects are in the pipeline with Eskom evaluating proposals for a 75 MW solar plant at Lethabo Power Station. “We have identified solar PV and wind for some of the stations within the Mpumalanga areas,” said Dan Marokane, Eskom Group Chief Executive.

At a media briefing providing an update on the Energy Access Plan, Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa spoke about the utility’s long-term role: “When you reset Eskom, it will be a big player in new generation, especially renewables.”

Eskom is advancing structural reforms to ensure financial and operational sustainability, he said. A key part of this strategy is the legal separation of Eskom’s operations into independent generation and distribution subsidiaries by March 2025. The restructuring aims to improve efficiency, reduce municipal debt arrears and combat crime and corruption – all while enhancing the utility’s financial health.

Eskom’s leadership, in consultation with the National Energy Crisis Committee, has chosen a data-driven approach to resolving the crisis inherited in 2022, said Bheki Nxumalo, Eskom Group Executive for Generation.

With energy supply stabilising, South Africa is on track to reducing its reliance on diesel for emergency power generation, cutting operational costs and further strengthening Eskom’s financial position. "We’re not out of the woods yet but the improvements on the generation side are already having a positive impact on the economy, daily life and the general mood across the country,” Ramokgopa said.