Which Eskom plants are responsible for most load shedding in South Africa, and which plants are performing better? There are three power plants responsible for almost half of the total Eskom plant breakdowns within the last year. A combination of poor maintenance, sabotage and other problems have played a major role in the endless load-shedding issues we continue to face as a nation. In this guide, we take a look at the worst (and best) performing plants to get a comparison.
The Eskom Power Plants Affecting Load Shedding
Load-shedding in South Africa is largely due to failures at specific plants within the country. Here are the plants that are causing the most problems, along with those that are performing at optimal levels.
The worst plants
According to Moneyweb, the three plants resulting in 44% of breakdowns in the last 12 months include Tutuka, Kendal and Duvha. This information was revealed during Eskom’s state of the system briefing held in May 2022. Tutuka had the biggest number of breakdowns, with 2256 megawatts (MW) of generation capacity unavailable for the financial year ending in March. Kendal had an average of 1613MW of generation unavailable, and Duvha had 1139MW unavailable.
The combined loss between these plants equals 5008MW. Restoring the damage to these power plants to just half of the amounts could be enough to replace the shortage that Eskom has during evening peak hours.
Speaking to Moneyweb, Eskom confirmed that the main outage contributors boiler (20%), turbine (17%), draught plant (14%) and generator (10%) were typical at these plants. Eskom also added that outage slips and trips were also notable issues at Tutuka.
The best plants
Eskom’s plants performing the best include Lethabo, functioning at 3558MW of nominal capacity and Matimba, functioning at 3 690MW of nominal capacity. The average amount of generation offline caused by unexpected breakdowns equates to a capacity of just 10% at Lethabo and 13% at Matimba. These figures are in line with Koeberg’s average unexpected losses, which came to 9.6% in the last fiscal year.
While we continue to hope that these problem power plants will eventually be restored, it is difficult to know when that may ever take place. As Eskom’s battles show no sign of going away, many businesses and consumers are turning to other ways to reduce power and go off the main grid. For businesses seeking to save energy, Energy Management Solutions offers a range of services, from utility auditing to remote metering.
To find out how we can help minimise the impact of load-shedding, contact us today.