Accelerating replacement generation rather than 75% EAF should be main Eskom performance measure

Setting a recovery in Eskom’s energy availability factor (EAF) to 75% as a key performance indicator (KPI) for the board and the executive is not only open to manipulation but is also the wrong measure in a context where the undermaintained coal fleet no longer offers the cheapest and quickest way out of loadshedding. In fact, energy analyst Clyde Mallinson, who has done extensive modelling of the coal fleet’s performance using Eskom data, argues that sticking with this KPI will “set Eskom up for failure” and will stymie the transition to an electricity supply industry that is able to provide reliable and affordable power for all South Africans, rather than the current trajectory that points to price and supply “bifurcation”.