JOHANNESBURG, April 22 (Reuters) – South African state utility Eskom said on Wednesday that it expected to implement no power cuts during the southern hemisphere winter months from April to August as its power station fleet had become more reliable.
Eskom gave the forecast in a statement on the electricity outlook for the next five months.
It last implemented nationwide power cuts roughly a year ago, a marked improvement from the days when its outages were near-daily.
Eskom’s struggles to supply electricity to Africa’s biggest economy have constrained economic growth, and repeated government bailouts have pressured public finances. But as well as the sharp turnaround in its operational performance, it reported its first full-year profit in eight years.
Eskom said on Wednesday that it had lowered its base-case assumption for unplanned power outages to about 12,000 megawatts over the next five months, compared with 13,000 megawatts in the previous winter outlook a year ago.
“Even under higher-stress conditions, where unplanned losses approach 14,000 megawatts, the system is expected to remain resilient, with no load-shedding (power outages) anticipated,” it said.
Eskom has reduced its reliance on burning diesel in its emergency plants, saving about 27 billion rand ($1.64 billion) compared to three years ago, it added.
Eskom said it would take a decision between July and September this year on whether new generation capacity would be delivered in time to support the orderly shutdown of five of its older coal-fired power stations.
