Ramokgopa says intensity of load shedding is declining

Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa shared that the intensity of load shedding is declining.

He addressed the media on Tuesday to update the progress of implementing the energy saving system.

INTENSE LOAD SHEDDING DECREASES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Ramokgopa stated that the plan maintenance and Eskom management are responsible for the reduced load shedding in the country.

The minister briefed the media on the plan in action they have for the country’s energy crisis on Tuesday.

According to the Bloemfontein Courant, it has been 13 days since the power utility suspended load shedding, this is said to be the longest period without the country experiencing power cuts this year.

“There has been an improvement, if we were to take the 1st to 31 March 2023, you will see that we only had about two periods of Stage 1 load shedding and now in this similar period this financial year we only have one stage of load shedding,” said Ramokgopa.

According to TimesLive, half of the power cuts experienced by South Africans this year were due to Stage 1 and 2 load shedding.

The higher stages of load shedding were more frequent last year compared to this year.

The minister stated that the improvement that the country is experiencing is not by accident; it was an investment made by competent Eskom management.

Although Eskom has managed to address the issue of load shedding, Ramokgopa stated that there were still a few glitches it needed to overcome, including the loss of skilled people and expertise.

“To address the issue of inadequate capacity, here we are accepting that Eskom is not the silver bullet. Our problems with regards to load shedding will not be solved by Eskom alone. It’s a major player in the short term, but we need additional generation capacity,” he said.

STAGE 16 LOAD SHEDDING GUIDELINES: AN “INSURANCE MEASURE”

The Minister of Electricity addressed concerns about implementing stage 16 power cuts following the approval of new stage guidelines by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa.

According to Eyewitness News, Ramokgopa clarified that the stage 16 guidelines were primarily to indicate that the system operator had a contingency plan to safeguard the grid in the most extreme circumstances.

He emphasised that this was different from Eskom’s present performance.

“I make the point that everyone that can afford medical aid, it doesn’t follow that you’re expecting tomorrow you will be hospitalised. So essentially, it’s an insurance measure. That’s what this exercise has been doing. It’s got no correlation with where we are at.”

Ramokgopa attributed the halt in load shedding to the vigorous maintenance of crucial power plants, which are now operating better and enhancing electricity generation.

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