Ramokgopa announces 25 projects to tackle Eskom’s load shedding crisis

Ramokgopa

Cape Town – Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa recently announced that approximately 25 projects are underway to address Eskom’s load-shedding issues.

These projects focus on upgrading Eskom’s infrastructure in the areas of generation and transmission, aiming to increase capacity and resolve the ongoing problem of load shedding.

Ramokgopa said that these 25 projects have the potential to add about 13 gigawatts of electricity to the grid.

“The 25 projects can unleash about 13 gigawatts of electricity into the grid. The work starts now to be connected by 2026 to ensure there is additional capacity. We need to ensure we expedite the projects and bring them online quicker so we can expand the grid capacity.

“These are the twin challenges [generation and transmission] we are facing at the moment and we must resolve to address load shedding. Of course the issue of distribution must receive attention,” Ramokgopa said during an update on the government’s Energy Action Plan on Monday.

In addition to the infrastructure upgrades, Eskom has extended the grid-access rights of at least two companies, which will help support South Africa’s power grid and keep these projects alive.

Currently, a cold front in the Gauteng area is leading to higher demand for electricity, accounting for about 25% of the load.

“There’s a cold front in the Gauteng area. It accounts for a significant amount of the load, about 25%. It is something that is worrying and you are expecting the demand is going to surge,” he said.

“If the improvements in relation to available capacity do not match the increases on the demand side, then the only corrective measure we have is load-shedding. I am hopeful we should be in a position to address that situation,” Ramokgopa said.

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Compiled by Betha Madhomu

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