Eskom diesel use soared in September

Eskom’s diesel-burning Ankerlig power station

Eskom has been using diesel-fuelled auxiliary turbines extensively to stave off power cuts in South Africa following delays in restoring some generation capacity.

The utility fired up the units after 2.7GW of capacity failed to return to service on 23 September as planned, Eskom said in a reply to questions. “Additionally, higher-than-expected electricity demand driven by cold weather has contributed to this situation,” it said.

While Eskom has been lauded for preventing rolling blackouts for more than six straight months, plant outages have led to “extensive usage” of diesel-burning open-cycle gas turbines intended to run during peak demand.

Diesel costs

The utility used more power from the units in September than it did during the same month last year. Still, diesel costs to run the turbines from April through last month have been reduced to about a third of the R17.1-billion spent during the same period in 2023, Eskom said.

The outlook of no load shedding through to the end of March 2025 “remains in force”, Eskom said.  — (c) 2024 Bloomberg LP

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