South Africa remains stuck with no end in sight to load shedding
Minister Ramokgopa acknowledges Eskom’s efforts but warns of intermittent load shedding, urging preparedness among South Africans.
In a media briefing held on Tuesday in Pretoria, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa acknowledged that despite Eskom’s concerted efforts to enhance its generation system, South African citizens should brace themselves for intermittent load shedding.
The minister shed light on Eskom’s ongoing struggle with unreliable units, attributing the issue to legacy problems, including historic underinvestment and insufficient planning for maintenance.
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ESKOM’S SUMMER: MIXED LOAD SHEDDING DAYS
“We will have periods of days of no load shedding and there will be days of load shedding. Eskom has announced its summer outlook and it makes the point that we should not be at more than Stage 4 level of load shedding.
“While demand was low during the week 22- 29 December 2023, Eskom was working to address issues of its fleet and used the opportunity to carry out planned maintenance.
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“We have been working during the festive season to ensure that we address issues of the fleet to continue to perform but also readying the fleet to ensure that once there is a ramp up of demand, the units are able to return back to service and remain in service while delivering efficient megawatts (MW),” Ramokgopa said.
RAMOKGOPA HIGHLIGHTS ESKOM’S PROACTIVE APPROACH TO CHALLENGES
Ramokgopa emphasised that Eskom is actively addressing these challenges through routine planned maintenance.
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While Eskom’s summer outlook indicates efforts to limit load shedding to Stage 4, the minister cautioned that variations would persist based on the reliability of the power grid.