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Eskom says it is continuing its push towards a more reliable electricity system, with the power utility reaffirming its commitment to keeping the lights on and limiting the disruption caused by outages, Cape {town} Etc reports.

The utility’s latest message comes as Eskom points to improvements made through its turnaround efforts, while acknowledging that power interruptions continue to affect households, businesses and essential services across South Africa.

Reportedly, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the utility understands the impact that electricity outages can have on communities and everyday life. She said teams are working to restore supply as quickly as possible in areas affected by outages, while safety remains a key consideration for both customers and Eskom employees working on the network.

‘The safety of customers, communities and technical teams remains Eskom’s highest priority,’

–  Daphne Mokwena, Eskom spokesperson.

Her comments underline the challenge facing Eskom;  improving the reliability of the national power system while responding quickly when faults and outages do occur. The utility says its performance has been supported by a sustained focus on operational and financial sustainability as its turnaround plan progresses.

Eskom’s current position follows years of operational and organisational problems that placed enormous pressure on South Africa’s electricity system.

According to those involved in the utility’s turnaround, one of the most important changes was a renewed focus on basic engineering discipline, maintenance and giving experienced employees a greater role in solving operational problems.

Eskom board chair Mteto Nyati previously described an organisation where management had become disconnected from employees on the ground. He reportedly said experienced engineers had identified solutions but were not being heard. That changed as the utility’s generation recovery plan was developed from within Eskom itself.

‘The generation recovery plan … was not … something that came from the ground up,’ Nyati said, emphasising that employees had long believed in the approach but had not previously been listened to.

One of the most significant decisions during the turnaround was to take substantial generation capacity offline for deep maintenance during the 2023/24 summer period. At the time, the scale of the maintenance raised questions, particularly because taking units offline meant accepting pressure on available electricity in the short term.

Eskom CEO Dan Marokane said management understood the scepticism but remained committed to the strategy.

‘This is going to be short-term pain for long-term gain.’

– Dan Marokane, Eskom CEO

The approach was subsequently credited with helping strengthen reliability, including allowing Koeberg’s nuclear units to operate continuously through later periods. Eskom’s latest figures point to the progress it believes has been made, with its year-to-date energy availability factor reaching 67.55%.

While reliable electricity remains the immediate concern for households and businesses, the turnaround being described by Eskom’s leadership is intended to go beyond simply preventing load shedding.

Marokane has described the process as a broader reinvention of the utility, including plans for Eskom Green, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and new product offerings aimed at energy-intensive customers such as data centres.

There is also a longer-term ambition to use additional generation capacity to support industrialisation and critical mineral processing in neighbouring countries including Zimbabwe, Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

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