Ramokgopa seeks power imports for SA’s energy crisis

South Africa

Cape Town – Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is scheduled to meet with Mozambique’s mineral resources and energy minister Carlos Zacarias at the Union Buildings on Monday, 12 June.

The meeting follows Ramokgopa’s previous announcement in April about discussions with Mozambique to secure a thousand megawatts of power.

This initiative aims to address South Africa’s ongoing energy crisis.

The minister has said the winter outlook is bleak, and higher stages of blackouts could be implemented.

Last week, the minister said significant strides had been made in enhancing power station efficiency, as the energy availability factor (EAF) had now reached an impressive 60%.

Speaking at a media briefing on Friday, Ramokgopa said that the last time the EAF in the country was this high was in September 2022 and the increase would mean lower stages of load shedding.

He said there was a plan in place to improve the situation and ensure that all power stations are running smoothly

“Government is making significant, yet marginal, progress in relation to the improvement of the plan, which intends to better the performance of Eskom’s power stations in order to ensure energy security.”

The minister said there has been a reduction in unplanned losses to less than 16 000MW, from over 18 000MW. In addition, planned maintenance has been reduced to approximately 2 500MW.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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