Question NW2731 to the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity
04 January 2024 - NW2731
Cachalia, Mr G K to ask the Minister in The Presidency for Electricity
With reference to his statement that a reduced unplanned capacity loss factor from 19000mw to 15000mw, coupled with increased generation of 29000mw due to the intentional delay of scheduled maintenance, was responsible for the improved load shedding situation, and that, as winter draws to a close, loadshedding will be alleviated due to a decline in demand, while he did not explain that the coming predicted period of reduced demand will coincide with the necessary maintenance of the generation units which have been running overtime during the winter, what are the full details of the measures that he will implement to ensure that Eskom manages the maintenance of generation units in such a way that the loss of generation does not exceed the expected decline in demand?
Reply:
First, with respect, the assumptions or statements attributed to the Minister in the preamble to the question are a mis-representation of fact and or any comments that were made. In respect of Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF), what was reported is that over a period of time, using the average May 2023 UCLF (17369 MW) as a baseline, unplanned outages averaged 15510 MW for September 2023. There was also no “intentional delay of scheduled maintenance” in fact, for Month of September 2023, planned maintenance improved to 4874 MW (compared to the May 2023 Baseline of 3120 MW.
As codified in the summer 2023 outlook, Eskom remained committed to increase the available generation, with a specific focus over the summer period, by:
- Adding 2880MW¹ from Kusile units (2160MW from U1-3 recovery and 720MW from U5 Synchronisation)
- Supporting the system with diesel burn at the open cycle gas turbines (OCGT)
- The return to service of the Koeberg steam generator on the 3rd of November 2023 (which will be followed by planned upgrades on Koeburg Unit 2)
- Demand side initiatives of almost 250 MW have been developed to contribute to reducing load shedding.