Cape Town – Allegations that Eskom may have quietly surpassed stage 6 load shedding have brought Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa’s performance under severe scrutiny.
Analysts alleged that Eskom last week quietly imposed stage 8 load shedding on unsuspecting South Africans, shedding more than 7 000MW of demand off the grid at one point, an amount that is shed from the grid when under stage 8.
However, the power utility denied the claims, stating that on the day in question, it had implemented stage six load shedding coupled with stage 4 load curtailment.
Some energy analysts are divided on Ramokgopa’s performances, as residents and businesses continue to reel from the impact of the persistent power cuts, reported EWN.
Energy analyst Ted Blom said he expected nothing from someone who had no experience and alleged that Ramokgopa was “floundering all over the show”, the report said.
The report said, however, that analyst Chris Yelland defended Ramokgopa, stating that “despite the hype and sometimes the over-promises by politicians, resolving the country’s energy crisis was something that was going take ‘several years to sort out’.”
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Mzansi also rated Ramokgopa’s performance since his appointment.
Some thought it was too early to tell, while others were adamant he hadn’t brought any noticeable change and would soon be known as “Mr stage 8”.
Meanwhile, Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe praised Ramokgopa during an interview on Newzroom Afrika, saying that he had done the “most difficult job”, visiting 14 power stations in just a month of assuming his new position.
“He goes to power stations and appreciates problems power station per station. He has visited 14 of them … that is what he’s doing that was not doing, visiting power station and appreciating practical problems at power station level… No other minister has done that,” said Mantashe.
Ramokgopa was appointed as Minister of Electricity over a month ago and was tasked with solving the country’s energy crisis.
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Compiled by Olwethu Mpeshe
