Financial and energy experts chime in on the electricity minister’s short-term plans for load shedding.
The plans proposed by electricity minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to curb load shedding are going nowhere fast, experts say – and South Africa is steadily marching into a winter “horror show” as a result.
Over the longer term, Ramokgopa has floated a plan to extend the life of coal power stations and to slow down their decommissioning. This, too, has gained political support – although it has been met with wide criticism from the energy sector.this week, the chief economist at the Bureau for Economic Research Hugo Pienaar said that the various initiatives proposed by Ramokgopa are simply the standard practice Eskom has been doing for years to mitigate load shedding going into the winter months.
. Load shedding will only likely improve when private generation and developments at Koeberg and Kusile are completed next year, he said. The constant switching on and switching off is causing severe damage across the network, running into the billions of rands. However, in recent weeks, Eskom has been unable to reliably hit even 27,000MW, often falling below 25,000MW, extending the potential shortfall even further. Without significant interventions on both the demand and supply side, higher stages of load shedding are unavoidable.Kgadmina and Pienaar are not alone in their views and are adding to growing concerns raised among business leaders, analysts and economists.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New factory makes a mint from load-sheddingEskom’s troubles have provided the impetus for a company to produce batteries for SA’s long-suffering population.
Read more »
ANC needs to find common ground on load shedding before 2024 polls | The CitizenThe ANC NEC meeting shows the party is doing a lot of strategic planning ahead of next year's elections, especially when it comes to dealing with SA’s electricity crisis. 🕯️ loadshedding ANCNEC Find out more here ⬇️
Read more »
Eskom eases load shedding for the week ahead – here is the scheduleEskom eases load shedding for the week ahead - here is the schedule
Read more »
Eskom announces continuous Stage 3 and Stage 4 load-sheddingThe power utility said it didn’t have to return to higher stages due to a slight improvement in generation capacity.
Read more »
ESKOM LIVE | Stages 3 and 4 planned for the week ahead | BusinessAll the latest news and analysis on load shedding, power and the national grid.
Read more »
Eskom announces stage 3 and 4 load shedding for week ahead | The CitizenEskom said SA could expect stage 3 load shedding during the day and stage 4 in the evening in the upcoming week. loadshedding Find out more here ⬇️
Read more »