Cape Town — Minister of Electricity, Kgotsientso Ramokgopa, is confident the introduction of a new 10-step plan will help stop the rolling blackouts currently plaguing the country.
Ramokgopa briefed the media on the Energy Action Plan, as well as an update on the company’s new leader ship under CEO Dan Marokane. He said the R78 billion cash-injection from the National Treasury (NT) will allow Eskom to improve planned maintenance, EWN reported.
Eskom has so far received R44 billion and the new leadership at the embattled State-owned entity has already hit the ground running in an attempt to turn things around.
“I think there is a relationship between the amount of maintenance we can do and the available funding. There has been a significant erosion of Eskom’s balance sheet. Of course, we are on track to fix that problem.” Ramokgopa said.
[WATCH] Electricity Minister Dr Kgosientsho Ramakgopa says Eskom leadership has identified 10 key focus areas to maintain stability and improve the systems in the quest to beat #loadshedding.#Newzroom405 pic.twitter.com/6nUF5HuAbx
— Newzroom Afrika (@Newzroom405) March 11, 2024
According to SA Gov News, Ramokgopa, says trends are showing that there are signs of improvement and progress at Eskom. Ramokgopa said the trendline in the Unplanned Capacity Loss Factor (UCLF) improved by 4 300 MW from May to December 2023, and explained why the country still experiences load shedding.
“We use that improvement in the UCLF, as we are taking units out on planned maintenance. We are using that opportunity for us to ramp up planned maintenance. As these units return, you will be able to see a completely different picture of the… intensity of load shedding and also the frequency of load shedding.,” he said.
Ramokgopa implored citizens to be patient, as the ministry and Eskom work to resolve load shedding over the long-term.
“It’s important that we play that long-term game… The outside experts have told us to… focus on planned maintenance. And it is for this reason that Eskom has gone to National Treasury and said ‘we need additional fiscal relief’.
“Eskom has deployed a significant amount of that money on planned maintenance. The units will return. They will return healthier and they will be able to perform,” he said.
[Photos] The Minister in the Presidency responsible for Electricity, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa briefs media on the implementation of the Energy Action Plan, supported by Mr Eric Shunmagum from Eskom Generation pic.twitter.com/XjckmxjaQV
— South African Government (@GovernmentZA) March 11, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
