Eskom reports 68.2% availability as Koeberg Unit 1 trips offline

Eskom reported a financial-year-to-date energy availability factor of 68.2% in its original operating update dated 16 October 2026. The saved release attributes improving reliability and lower diesel use to its generation recovery programme. These are the utility’s reported figures and assessments, not independently corroborated operating results. For 1 April to 15 October, Eskom compared the 68.2% availability figure with 62.63% in the corresponding previous-year period and described it as the highest year-to-date level in six years. Diesel spending fell to R1.18 billion from R6.05 billion, a reported reduction of R4.87 billion or 80.47%. For 9–15 October, average unplanned outages were 7,707 MW, compared with 10,646 MW a year earlier. The update also disclosed an automatic trip at Koeberg Unit 1 during testing associated with Unit 2’s planned maintenance outage. Eskom said electrical protection operated following a disturbance outside tolerance limits, disconnecting Unit 1. Engineering teams were investigating the cause and corrective action. The utility said nuclear safety systems remained operational, the station was safe and sufficient generation was available to meet demand despite the lost output. Separately, Eskom reported 518 consecutive days without loadshedding since 16 May 2025. It said local load reduction still affected 193,556 customers, down from approximately 1.69 million, with remaining areas in Gauteng and KwaZulu-Natal. Its stated target was to eliminate that intervention by March 2027. Nexus analysis The update combines stronger fleet indicators with a specific nuclear-unit interruption, demonstrating why aggregate improvement should not be confused with the absence of operational incidents. It also distinguishes system-wide loadshedding from local load reduction: the reported national streak does not mean every customer experienced unrestricted supply. The savings and reliability comparisons remain Eskom’s account, while the investigation and elimination target were unfinished at publication.