According to the Engineering News (EWN), Eskom announced that its Energy Availability Factor (EAF) reached 67.78 per cent, the benchmark set by the regulator for the current reporting period. The figure is a company claim; independent verification by the regulator has not yet been published.
The EAF measures the proportion of time that power-generating assets are able to produce electricity compared with their maximum possible output. In plain terms, an EAF of 67.78 per cent means that, on average, Eskom’s coal, gas and renewable stations were able to run at full capacity for roughly two-thirds of the time they were scheduled to operate.
Why the number matters to small businesses
For an SME that relies on a steady supply of electricity, whether it runs a workshop in Durban or a call centre in Johannesburg, the EAF is more than a statistic. Load-shedding events, which are triggered when the grid cannot meet demand, are directly linked to how much capacity is actually available. A higher EAF reduces the likelihood that Eskom will need to curtail supply, meaning fewer unexpected blackouts and less disruption to production schedules.
When the EAF falls below the benchmark, the utility is forced to schedule load-shedding stages, each of which can cost a small manufacturer up to R30 000 per day in lost output, idle labour and wasted raw material. Conversely, meeting the 67.78 per cent target suggests that the grid is operating at a level that should keep the most severe load-shedding stages at bay, at least for the short term.
That said, the benchmark is a floor, not a ceiling. The Department of Mineral Resources and Energy (DMRE) has long aimed for an EAF in the high-70s to support the country’s growth agenda. Eskom’s current figure therefore still leaves room for improvement, especially as the economy recovers from the pandemic and electricity demand climbs.
In the broader context, South Africa’s power sector has struggled with ageing infrastructure, maintenance backlogs and fuel supply constraints. Over the past five years, the average EAF has hovered around the low-60s per cent, prompting repeated load-shedding cycles that have eroded confidence among investors and strained the cash flow of many small enterprises.
Industry analysts note that the recent improvement may be linked to a combination of better plant performance, accelerated maintenance programmes and the commissioning of new gas-fired units. However, they caution that weather-related factors, such as drought reducing hydro output, and coal-supply bottlenecks can quickly reverse gains.
For entrepreneurs, the headline offers a tentative sign that the grid is stabilising, but it does not eliminate the need for contingency planning. Backup generators, battery storage and demand-side management remain prudent strategies, especially for businesses operating in regions that have historically experienced the longest outages.
Looking ahead, the regulator is expected to publish a quarterly review that will confirm whether Eskom’s reported EAF aligns with the official data set. Until then, the figure should be treated as an early indicator rather than a definitive guarantee of uninterrupted power.
What counts as a healthy Energy Availability Factor
An Energy Availability Factor in the high 70s to 80s is generally considered the range a well-maintained coal-dominated fleet like Eskom’s should be capable of sustaining, which puts a reported 67.78% as a genuine improvement on the crisis-era lows of the low 50s seen during the worst years of load shedding, while still leaving a meaningful gap to what the fleet was designed to deliver. Eskom publishes its generation performance data on its own data portal, and the trend over several consecutive reporting periods is a far more reliable signal than any single figure, since a coal fleet’s availability can swing month to month with planned maintenance schedules alone.
For businesses that have already invested in their own backup generation or renewable capacity specifically because grid reliability could not be counted on, a rising EAF is a genuinely welcome trend but not yet a reason to unwind that investment, given how recently the fleet was performing at levels that made extended, unscheduled outages routine. For a related look at how one large institution has responded by reducing its reliance on the grid entirely, see this site’s report on a university’s 8,500-panel solar installation.
