Load shedding needed to be implemented to protect, replenish reserves - Ramokgopa
Eskom implemented stage three power outages on Friday, which it said would last until Monday morning.
FILE: Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa and Deputy Minister Samantha Graham-Maré brief members of the media on electricity distribution and generation performance on 12 August 2024. Picture: GCIS
JOHANNESBURG - As South Africans face another weekend of scheduled power cuts, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said load shedding needed to be implemented to protect and replenish reserves.
Eskom implemented stage three power outages on Friday, which it said would last until Monday morning.
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Two units have gone down at its Kusile power station and two more at Koeberg.
However, during a briefing on Saturday, Ramokgopa said they are confident that at the start of the business week, electricity will be restored.
“The level of ambition that we have set for ourselves during this window, we have made the point that we're confident that come Monday, we should be in a position to get out of this current bout of load shedding.”
He explained that the intensity of planned maintenance has been moving in the right direction since 2023 when load shedding was at its peak.
However, recent power outages have caused significant setbacks.
“But I think the three episodes that we've had – the 1st of February, the 22nd of February, and now the 6th of March – have not helped to ensure that we remain on that course,” he said.
Ramokgopa added that these setbacks erode the public's confidence in the utility's ability to solve load shedding and the impact it has on livelihoods.