Cape Town – President Cyril Ramaphosa has affirmed that the ongoing absence of load shedding serves as confirmation that the Energy Action Plan (EAP) introduced in 2022 is yielding positive results.
The plan, implemented in response to the country’s energy crisis, focuses on various actions including fixing Eskom’s power stations, accelerating private investment in generation capacity, and promoting renewable energy.
Ramaphosa said this in his weekly newsletter on Monday.
“As of today [Monday], the country will have had no load shedding for over a month and a half. This welcome development shows that the Energy Action Plan we announced in 2022 is working.
“It is too early to say that load shedding has been brought to an end. However, the sustained improvement in the performance of Eskom’s power stations – as well as the new generation capacity we have added to our energy system – gives us hope that the end of load shedding is in sight,” he said.
He emphasised the importance of continued vigilance and support for the plan’s implementation to ensure a reliable and sustainable energy supply for the future.
Load shedding has been reduced due to a combination of all of these measures: fixing Eskom, unlocking private investment in energy generation, accelerating the procurement of new capacity and supporting rooftop solar. https://t.co/rcVfEnTCSS pic.twitter.com/AWMDUrrbzd
— Cyril Ramaphosa 🇿🇦 (@CyrilRamaphosa) May 13, 2024
“A renewed focus by Eskom on maintenance and the return to service of several units is now showing results. Losses due to unplanned outages have reduced by nine percent between April 2023 and March 2024, adding the equivalent of 4400MW of capacity to our national grid.
“Better maintained and more reliable power stations have increased the country’s Energy Availability Factor (EAF), which is the amount of electricity available from our power stations at any given time. The EAF has been above 60% since April, compared to 53% over the same period last year,” he said.
He added: “The leadership, management and staff of Eskom, particularly the power station general managers and their teams, are to be commended for their efforts. The work of the National Energy Crisis Committee, which coordinates the response across government, has also been vital. The strong partnership with business and the support of other social partners has enabled the deployment of valuable resources and expertise.”
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
