Eskom slashes spending on diesel more than 80%

Eskom says it has sharply cut its spending on diesel for the financial year to date to R992m, compared with R5.92bn over the same period in 2025, by deploying the commodity selectively during peak demand periods and to maintain required reserves in line with the South African grid code.

“Diesel expenditure for the year to date declined by 83.25% to R992.06m, down from R5.92bn a year ago, as open-cycle gas turbines usage dropped from 8.67% to 1.1%,” the state power utility said in its latest update on the power system.

“The sharp reduction highlights sustained improvements in fleet performance, resulting in a more reliable, efficient and resilient power system.”

Diesel, which is used to power open-cycle gas turbines during supply shortfalls, has been one of Eskom’s most expensive tools for stabilising the grid during periods of strain.

But in April, group CEO Dan Marokane said consumption had been “reduced drastically” due to higher availability of coal-fired power stations. He said Eskom aimed to “sustain current low levels” to limit exposure to rising fuel costs.

The price of both diesel and petrol has soared since April as the US-Iran war disrupted global oil supply. South Africa is a net importer of both oil and petroleum products.

The latest report from the mineral & petroleum resources department showed the wholesale price of diesel increased by more than R1/ l at the start of this month, though that of petrol dipped by more than 50c/ l .

Eskom said that between March 2023 and March 2026 it reduced diesel expenditure by R23bn.

Electricity supply has improved over the past few years, ending years of rolling blackouts, which were needed to avoid collapsing the grid. In its update, Eskom said it had recorded 462 consecutive days without load-shedding since May 16 2025.

It said the power grid is now much more stable than in recent years, with the year-to-date energy availability factor (EAF) improving to 67.79%, the highest level since 2020, ensuring sufficient capacity to meet demand even when rooftop solar output was constrained. The weekly EAF has reached 72.56%.

“Average unplanned outages have also declined by 39.2% year on year, highlighting Eskom’s progress from recovery to sustained operational reliability, improved efficiency and enhanced energy security,” it said.

Eskom has been able to minimise load-reduction, a mechanism whereby it switches off electricity in specific areas to prevent local transformers and mini-substations from exploding due to heavy overloading caused by illegal connections, meter tampering and electricity theft.

In its update, the utility said it had achieved load-reduction-free status in seven of the country’s nine provinces ahead of its October 2026 target.

“Approximately 1.2-million customers have now been restored to normal supply conditions, reducing the share of affected customers to only 6.8% of Eskom’s customer base,” it said.