No solid evidence on how govt plans to end load shedding in next 3 months - energy expert

JOHANNESBURG - Some experts have labelled the energy action plan update by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa as nothing more than window-dressing.

On Monday, Ramokgopa briefed the media on steps taken in the past year to address the energy crisis but has left more questions than answers.

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One such burning question is whether any budget has been set aside to address issues around the current coal fleet, which is at current breakdown levels of 16,000 megawatts.

Energy expert, Adil Nchabeleng, said the speech delivered by Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa was anything but electrifying.

He said Ramokgopa failed to provide proper solutions to Eskom’s biggest problems.

"The energy availability factor of Eskom is dwindling between 52%-54% because they are not solving the core crisis which is the fleet breakdowns and the unit breakdowns within Eskom. There’s no money, no budget, there’s no team focus and those plants have been sitting for months and months, and some of them even years."

He said there has been no solid evidence put forward on how government plans to end load shedding in the next three months.