South Africa maintained 231 consecutive days of power last year, according to state-owned utility Eskom, after years of persistent blackouts that held back growth in Africa’s biggest economy.
Eskom said that through 2025, it recorded only 26 hours of loadshedding, the local term for scheduled electricity cuts — all of them in April and May — because of improved maintenance of its aging power stations. The improvement at Eskom, which provides 80% of the country’s power generation, comes after years of mismanagement, corruption scandals, and bailouts for ongoing debt problems.
South Africa is trying to reduce its reliance on coal and its longer-term plans include building a new nuclear power plant and bringing on board more private companies to generate electricity.