Minister assures action as SA faces significant setback with Stage 6 load shedding

Cape Town – Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has assured citizens that Eskom is working to resolve the energy crisis caused by the implementation of Stage 6 load shedding.

The minister, who addresed a media briefing on Friday, said that the setback is significant, but the government remains confident in its ability to address the energy security challenge.

The Stage 6 load shedding was implemented on Friday due to the loss of five generating units, the need to replenish emergency reserves, and an increase in demand.

“If you put it together, we are talking about 15 300MW. That is not out of the norm if you look at [it in relation to] the winter plan. We had over committed our reserves for purposes of protecting the grid.

[WATCH] “This is extreme.” Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa apologises for the implementation of #Stage6 #loadshedding. pic.twitter.com/qYFaB1td0K

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“We need to ensure that we continue to protect reserves so we are not going to engage them at a high intensity and as a result, you don’t have the benefit of the 4 600MW that you would ordinarily draw from our emergency reserves.

“By not engaging the reserves, it means that Eskom will be replenishing those reserves and we are going to draw from the grid.

“That’s why we need the additional capacity. That is why that capacity is not be made available to the average consumer. It is for Eskom to consume for purposes of replenishing the dam levels.

“As a result of engaging the emergency reserves, we are depleting them and they perform a very important function, which is the protecting of the grid. If things were to go bad, we will draw from the emergency reserves.

“At any given point, [you want] to be able to draw from the emergency reserves in instances of extreme occurrences, which we have not experienced and don’t anticipate to experience. We continue to work with the team at Eskom to ensure that we improve the situation,” Ramokgopa said.

He highlighted the importance of protecting emergency reserves and emphasised the ongoing efforts to improve the situation in collaboration with Eskom.