{"id":103654,"date":"2026-02-10T20:44:11","date_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:44:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/?p=103654"},"modified":"2026-02-10T20:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T18:44:11","slug":"eskom-stability-brings-relief-but-risks-and-higher-tariffs-remain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/eskom-stability-brings-relief-but-risks-and-higher-tariffs-remain\/","title":{"rendered":"Eskom stability brings relief, but risks and higher tariffs remain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za<\/a>
\n3-minute read
\n10 February 2026<\/p>\n

\"\"

\ud83d\udcf7 Eskom\u2019s load shedding relief continues, but analyst Chris Yelland warns load reduction, rising tariffs and future risks are still on the table.<\/p><\/div>\n

South Africans have experienced months of little to no load shedding, bringing welcome relief after years of severe power cuts. However, energy analyst Chris Yelland has warned that the current stability should not be mistaken for a permanent fix, as risks remain in both the short and medium term.<\/p>\n

Speaking to Radio Islam International<\/em>,<\/a> Yelland said while load shedding has \u201ceffectively come to an end\u201d, another form of outages continues to affect many communities, particularly poorer areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s another form of outages called load reduction, and this predominantly affects the poor,\u201d he explained. Load reduction is often implemented in areas facing \u201chigh levels of theft and non-payment and overloading of distribution networks.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the customer\u2019s perspective, Yelland noted, \u201cload shedding feels the same as load reduction,\u201d meaning many households still experience power interruptions despite Eskom\u2019s improved performance.<\/p>\n

He also highlighted that distribution outages caused by theft and vandalism remain a daily reality in some regions. These include \u201ctheft of copper and cable,\u201d illegal connections, and even \u201cstealing of steel from pylons causing pylons to fall over.\u201d<\/p>\n

While acknowledging the progress, Yelland cautioned against complacency. \u201cWe need to do the right thing all the time,\u201d he said, warning that reverting to \u201cbad old ways\u201d could bring South Africa back to the crisis levels seen in recent years.<\/p>\n

Yelland further stressed that Eskom itself has warned of future risks. He said the utility is indicating that \u201cthe risk of load shedding in 2029 and 2030 is high,\u201d suggesting the current stability may not hold unless sustained reforms and investments continue.<\/p>\n

He credited Eskom\u2019s improved position partly to stronger performance at coal-fired power stations. \u201cThere has been a significant performance improvement in Eskom\u2019s fleet,\u201d he said, adding that credit should go not only to leadership but also \u201cthroughout the organisation and down in the power stations.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, he said Eskom\u2019s turnaround is also linked to private sector intervention. \u201cThe private sector has brought on massive new renewable energy and battery energy storage,\u201d which has reduced pressure on Eskom\u2019s generation fleet.<\/p>\n

A third factor is declining demand for Eskom electricity. Yelland said demand has dropped due to rising tariffs and \u201cdemand destruction,\u201d including the closure of major energy-intensive industries. \u201cAbout 50% of the smelting industry has been closed or mothballed,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n

On renewables, Yelland said South Africa\u2019s direction is clear: \u201cThe only game in town is wind and solar and battery energy storage.\u201d<\/p>\n

Listen<\/strong> to the full interview on Sabahul Muslim<\/em><\/a> with Moulana Junaid Kharsany and Chris Yelland.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Neelam Rahim | neelam@radioislam.co.za 3-minute read 10 February 2026 South Africans have experienced months of little to no load shedding, bringing welcome relief after years of severe power cuts. However, energy analyst Chris Yelland has warned that the current stability should not be mistaken for a permanent fix, as risks remain in both the short […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":29,"featured_media":103655,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[28,4995],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-103654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest-news","category-south-africa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/SABC-News-Eskom-1-2.jpg?fit=756%2C426&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pc0QIf-qXQ","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-11 12:56:00","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103654","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/29"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=103654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/103654\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/103655"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=103654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=103654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radioislam.org.za\/a\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=103654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}