Zuko Komisa
- Eskom has reported its first pre-tax profit in eight years (R23.9 billion), signalling a major turnaround from its past financial struggles.
- The profit was primarily driven by higher tariffs, lower primary energy costs (saving R16.3 billion on diesel), and vast improvements in plant reliability.
- The load shedding crisis has largely ended, with the duration of outages falling by over 97% and the estimated economic cost dropping by 83% (from R2.8 trillion to R481 billion).
South Africa’s state-owned power utility, Eskom, has announced a pre-tax profit of R23.9 billion for the 2025 financial year, marking its first return to profitability in eight years.
The turnaround signals a major shift for the company, which was recently at the heart of a crippling load shedding crisis that severely damaged the economy and necessitated President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Energy Action Plan.
Eskom Group Chief Executive Dan Marokane confirmed the profits will be reinvested into the enterprise.
He stated that over the next five years, Eskom plans to invest over R320 billion to sustain and expand national infrastructure.
The results were largely driven by a 12.74% standard tariff increase and a 14% reduction in primary energy costs, the latter achieved through improved coal plant reliability and a R16.3 billion saving from reduced reliance on expensive Open-Cycle Gas Turbines (OCGTs).
Board Chairman Mteto Nyati highlighted the utility’s transformation from the “crisis” inherited by the current board, asserting that Eskom is becoming a “sustainable, investable company”.
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