Eskom has announced a renewed focus on reducing the cost of electricity, marking a shift in priorities after years dominated by breakdowns and rolling power cuts. The power utility says the move follows significant progress in stabilising the national grid, despite ongoing challenges linked to ageing power stations.
The development comes as electricity prices remain a major concern for South African households and businesses already under pressure from a weak economy and rising living costs. Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has previously acknowledged that escalating tariffs are deepening energy poverty and limiting economic growth.
Earlier this month, Ramokgopa said government was implementing a range of interventions to address the affordability of electricity. He stressed that the issue extends beyond Eskom, affecting the broader economy and the ability of businesses to operate sustainably. According to the minister, reducing electricity costs is now a central policy concern alongside ensuring security of supply.
Eskom Senior Manager Eric Shunmugam said the utility has made notable gains in restoring stability after a prolonged period of crisis. Speaking to eNCA, he reflected on how far the system has come compared to just two winters ago.
“At one point we were sitting with breakdowns of about 18 gigawatts,” Shunmugam said. “Today we’re trending around 9,000 megawatts, meaning we’ve recovered close to 7,500 megawatts. That’s roughly seven stages of load shedding that have been clawed back.”
Shunmugam added that Eskom has now recorded more than 300 days without load shedding, a milestone that would have seemed improbable during the worst years of power cuts. While the system remains fragile, he said it is sufficiently stable to allow Eskom to shift attention towards cost efficiency.
With the immediate crisis eased, Eskom’s challenge is to produce electricity more cheaply while maintaining reliability from power stations that are, in many cases, decades old. Shunmugam noted that much of Eskom’s infrastructure relies on outdated technology, which makes maintenance costly and operational efficiency harder to achieve.
“We are trying to be responsible in balancing reliability and quality of supply against the reality of very old stations,” he said. “We have plans in place to address these maintenance and engineering shortcomings.”
Eskom says these efforts form part of a longer-term strategy aimed at modernising infrastructure, improving plant performance and preventing a return to widespread load shedding. While no quick fixes are expected, the utility maintains that stabilisation creates space for more sustainable and cost-effective energy production.
For consumers, the shift offers cautious optimism. Lower electricity costs will not arrive overnight, but the acknowledgement that affordability matters is a notable change in tone after years when simply keeping the lights on was the overriding concern. Whether Eskom can deliver cheaper power without sacrificing reliability remains the next test in South Africa’s long-running energy saga.
