> ## Content Index
> Fetch the complete content index at: https://businessoi.media/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further.

# [AFRICA] Eskom hits 441 days without load shedding: South Africa turns an energy page
- URL: https://businessoi.media/en/afrique-eskom-franchit-441-jours-sans-delestage-lafrique-du-sud-tourne-la-page-energetique-en/
- Published: 2026-08-04T13:43:16.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-04T13:43:16.000Z
- Description: 441 consecutive days without load shedding as of August 4, 2026. EAF reaches 82% (best since 2017), diesel spending drops 85.67%. South Africa regains energy reliability with regional implications.
- Author: Emmanuel TAOCHY
- Tags: Afrique, Économie, Investissement, Clôture, #en

On August 4, 2026, Eskom officially confirmed 441 consecutive days without scheduled load shedding in South Africa, counting from May 16, 2025\. This is an unprecedented achievement for the state power utility that had pushed the country's economy — and the entire regional logistics chain — into repeated blackouts for more than a decade.

## Green across all indicators

The figures published by Eskom for the week of July 24–30 are telling. The Energy Availability Factor (EAF) reached 82.04% on July 26 — its highest level since 2017\. Year-to-date, this rate is up 7.28 percentage points on the prior year, averaging 66.97%. Over three years, recovered generation capacity amounts to an additional 5.9GW — equivalent to several large power stations brought back online.

Unplanned outages have fallen 47.8% year-on-year, to a weekly average of 5,553MW versus 10,641MW a year earlier. On July 26, unplanned outages stood at just 4,562MW — the lowest since June 30, 2018.

## Diesel bill collapses by 85.67%

The financial victory is equally striking. The use of diesel turbines — expensive and polluting — has almost vanished from Eskom's operational dashboard. Over the first four months of the current financial year (April to July 2026), diesel expenditure collapsed to R807 million, down from R5.63 billion a year earlier — a reduction of 85.67%. During the week of July 24–30, no diesel was consumed for the second consecutive week.

## Six provinces fully cleared

The load reduction programme — distinct from emergency load shedding and affecting a further 1.69 million customers — is also receding. By end-July, 1.196 million customers had been removed, representing 70.8% of the original total. Six of South Africa's nine provinces have now been completely cleared from the programme. Overall customer impact has dropped from 23.5% to 6.9% of Eskom's portfolio.

## Why it matters

South Africa is Africa's leading industrial economy. Its energy stabilisation sends a powerful signal to international investors: the operational risk posed by load shedding — which had cost tens of billions of rands in lost productivity annually — is now receding on a durable basis. For the Indian Ocean region, which maintains growing commercial and logistics links with Johannesburg, Durban and Cape Town, this is structurally good news: a reliable industrial hub in southern Africa strengthens the competitiveness of the entire regional value chain.