Energy availability to improve in December as Kusile units return, says Gordhan

Minister of public enterprises Pravin Gordhan told parliament that South Africa’s energy availability factor (EAF) would remain at modest levels through the winter but that returning units at Kusile power station would see energy availability improve at the end of this year. 

Gordhan was replying orally to questions in the National Assembly on Wednesday afternoon. DA MP Ghaleb Cachalia asked Gordhan what Eskom’s envisaged EAF would be for the end of 2023 based on Eskom’s figures. 

The EAF for the first 19 weeks of 2023 was 6% lower at 52.56% compared with the 58.79% for the same period in 2022, and South Africa has seen some of the most severe levels of load-shedding on record in recent months.

Gordhan said the government’s plan would ensure the EAF of 65% is possible by March of 2024 as winter continues and as the country continues to struggle with supply and capacity leading up to December this year. 

“The EAF for the financial year 2024 as at May 29 2023 was 52.63%. This reflects the unavailability of several large units as well as the continued poor performance of older coal-fired power stations as a result of many years of poor maintenance. 

“However, intensive efforts are under way to ensure that Kusile units one, two and three come online by December 2023, which will reduce unplanned load-shedding by about 1,500MW for the last three months of the financial year,” said Gordhan. 

He said an improvement in fleet availability this past week has allowed for unplanned load losses to stay at 15,900MW and a reduction in the severity of load-shedding which Eskom and the government hope to maintain through the winter season.

The minister was also grilled about his decision to challenge a court bid to have hospitals, schools and police stations exempted from load-shedding. 

Gordhan said Eskom was engaging with entities, where applicable, to ease the severity of load-shedding. He said a key factor was seeking connectivity to electricity to the institution concerned and setting the facility aside from the main grid. 

Eskom has concluded preliminary assessments and this has been shared with the department and the timeline should take up to 24 months to implement, depending on the solution adopted, Gordhan said. 

He said the North Gauteng high court in Pretoria ruled against the department, but he planned to appeal the decision while he engages with departments to find solutions. “There is no unwillingness from government to ensure facilities get electricity as required,” he said. 

When his remarks faced criticism from opposition MPs, Gordhan said he was not exempt from load-shedding at his Pretoria home or his official Cape Town residence. He said the court decision was impractical and cannot be implemented as it stands.  

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