SONA 2024: Will there be an end to LOAD SHEDDING?
President Ramaphosa delivered his State of the Nation Address tonight. And we all wanted to know if there is an end to load shedding soon?
President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his eighth State of the Nation Address (SONA) tonight.
SONA 2024: IS THERE AN END TO LOAD SHEDDING?
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Ramaphosa said they have set out a clear plan to end load shedding, which they have been implementing with a single-minded focus through the National Energy Crisis Committee.
“Last year, we implemented a major debt relief package which will enable Eskom to make investments in maintenance and transmission infrastructure and ensure its sustainability going forward.”he said.
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According to him, they have connected more than 2,500 MW of solar and wind power to the grid, with three times this amount already in procurement or construction.
This has been the case since they revived our renewable energy programme five years ago.
He furthermore said through tax incentives and financial support, we have more than doubled the amount of rooftop solar capacity installed across the country in just the past year.
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THE ENERGY SYSTEM WILL BE REFORMED
“We have implemented sweeping regulatory reforms to enable private investment in electricity generation, with more than 120 new private energy projects now in development.”
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Ramaphosa said our energy system will be reformed to make it more competitive, sustainable and reliable into the future.
“We are going to build more than 14,000km of new transmission lines to accommodate renewable energy over the coming years.
“To fast-track this process, we will enable private investment in transmission infrastructure through a variety of innovative investment models.”Ramaphosa said.
Last year, we tabled the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill to support the restructuring of Eskom and establish a competitive electricity market.
WHAT DID RAMAPHOSA PROMISE LAST YEAR?
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In last year’s Sona, Ramaphosa vowed to fix load shedding with an action plan designed to address the energy crisis.
A month after the address in March, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was appointed Minister of Electricity in the Presidency.
Yet, South Africans have endured a record-breaking 332 days of load shedding in 2023, according to data compiled by EskomSePush and The Outlier.