Cape Town – Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has emphasised the need for Eskom to improve the reliability of its generation units to put an end to load shedding.
“I think it’s particularly unhelpful when Eskom has to go out from time to time with the announcement of the intensity of load shedding.
“I think there was one day where we shifted the intensity of load shedding about three times in a space of about six hours. I think that undermines the credibility of our efforts, but also the ability of industries and households to be able to plan because they would have expected lower stages of load shedding,” Ramokgopa said during a media briefing on Sunday.
He outlined progress on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan (EAP), which includes adding extra megawatts to the grid and taking problematic units out for service to enhance their reliability.
“This will give us an opportunity that when we make a promise of a Stage ‘X’ you won’t find that much later we have to make amendments to that announcement, which undermine the statements Eskom releases from time to time,” said Ramokgopa.
One area of focus is addressing the Unplanned Capability Loss Factor (UCLF) on units that keep tripping, which affects available capacity and increases the intensity of load shedding.
Minister of Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa briefs the media on implementation of the Energy Action Plan. Tshedimosetso House, Hatfield, Tshwane. pic.twitter.com/Omj70MpTj4
— @SAgovnews (@SAgovnews) July 23, 2023
“It’s an area that requires our attention,” he said.
He noted that Eskom had planned to keep the UCLF at less than 15 000 megawatts (MW).
“But you can see that as part of our optimistic scenario when we did the winter outlook that we’re not keeping to that.
“We do admit that it’s an area that requires attention because of course, it takes on the available capacity and therefore the correction that you introduced as a result of the elevated UCLF, which increases the intensity of load shedding.”
He also expressed concern over the delay in refurbishing the Koeberg Nuclear Power Plant, which plays a critical role in the power supply.
The plant is expected to be decommissioned in July 2024, however, its licence has been extended to help relieve rolling power outages.
“And I’m just saying something that is beyond worrying and exceptionally upsetting. That brings other questions, if you can’t manage why should you have the confidence that you can do other more complex things?,” the minister said.
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Compiled by Betha Madhomu
