Minister of Electricity Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has denied accusations that government is moving swiftly to resolve load shedding as a result of the looming 2024 general elections. Ramokgopa was delivering a statement in the National Assembly on the progress in implementing the National Energy Action Plan and long and short-term goals to end load shedding. Some opposition parties welcomed the improved lower stages of load shedding but are not convinced the energy crisis is over.
The country is turning the corner towards ending load shedding. That’s the assurance that Ramokgopa has been preaching all month. The country is experiencing reduced stages of load shedding following severe power outages last month. Ramokgopa says energy generation has largely been improved due to the connection of two units at the Kusile Power Station. Another unit will be synchronized by December while another by August 2024.
“The intensification of planned maintenance is expected to be sustained for the rest of the summer months with the objective of going into winter 2024 with a fleet in a much healthier and more reliable state coupled with increases in new generation capacity aimed at putting the country on a path to sustained energy security,” says Ramokgopa.
While opposition parties have welcomed the report on the state of the power grid, they want the electricity minister to have more powers and accountability.
“While we bask in the current load shedding holiday, we must not become complacent. Our energy crisis has not been solved. It has merely temporarily been stayed. And there is a huge amount of work ahead not only to develop a stable, efficient and cost-effective energy sector but also to ensure it complies without climate change objectives to meet the just energy transition undertakings,” says DA MP Samantha Graham.
“In more than one occasion over the last five years the president of the ANC has assured the people of South Africa that load shedding will be things of the past and things just got worse. At the beginning of the year the Secretary- General of the ruling party said load shedding will end before December 2023 and there are no scientific and engineering demonstrations and evidence and signs that load shedding will end under this government despite assurance given by this minister,” says EFF MP Adv. Busisiwe Mkhwebane.
“I would really implore on you to implore on the president maybe we can assist you here, he needs to give you a better deal than just making you a public spokesperson whose got no powers and functions to the extent to which is required for the predicament at hand,” says IFP MP Mkhuleko Hlengwa.
“South Africans have suffered accumulative 64 days of blackouts in 2023 up until now. Are the strides made that the minister spoke about sustainable? The energy availability factor is still below 60% so the answer is no,” says FF Plus MP Wouter Wessels, FF Plus MP.
“Yes, this last while we have seen an improvement, and we are grateful for that. This is good news. The challenge is off course how long can it last? When there is a crisis, one jumps around to resolve the crisis with elections looming,” says ACDP MP Steve Swart.
“So, we have a grid that is potentially 18 000 megawatts at risk and off course this will impact lives, livelihoods, education, health and safety and our already fragile economy. At the end of the day minister, we have capacity creation problem and transmission capacity problem,” says GOOD Party MP Brett Herron.
“Eskom’s unplanned capability loss factor and megawatts at risk have declined in September relative to May 2023. The key point is that load shedding reduction is an automatic by product of ramped up reliability maintenance,” says ANC MP Khaya Magaxa.
Ramokgopa has denied accusations by the opposition, including that government is doing damage control ahead of the elections.
“It is a height of folly to suggest that there is a relationship between the speed, we want to resolve load shedding and the electoral prospects. What we are trying to do is to protect the South African economy and we know that the manifestation of that is the fiscal headspace. So, we are running out of the fiscal runway. The Minister of Finance has to do some degree of prioritization to ensure we remain within the fiscal envelope,” says Ramokgopa. Ramokgopa says government is also trying to resolve the R64 billion debt owed to Eskom by municipalities, amongst other things dealing with illegal connections.
Source: eNCA
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