RAMAPHOSA ACKNOWLEDGES SOUTH AFRICANS’ ANGER OVER LOAD SHEDDING

In an open letter to the people of South Africa, President Cyril Ramaphosa recognised people’s right to feel frustrated and angry about the lack of energy and increase in load shedding.

In the letter, he assured South Africans that while load shedding appears to worsen, the reality is that the state has already taken several important actions to address the shortfall in electricity supply.

“Our immediate priority is to stabilise the electricity system. As the system recovers and generation capacity is restored, Eskom will be able to reduce load shedding to lower stages.”

Due to the agreement reached between Eskom and the labour unions, critical repairs will be enabled and additional units will return to operation.

“The transmission line from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique has been restored, adding 600 MW to the grid, and Medupi Unit 6 returned to service on Saturday, adding another 720 MW.”

Ramaphosa added that additional units will come back online during the coming week, further easing the current shortfall.

On the subject of renewable energy projects, the president said that Eskom has made land available next to existing power stations for private investment in renewable energy projects.

He concluded by saying that government and Eskom are committed and determined to explore every avenue and use every opportunity to ensure that we generate enough electricity to meet the country’s needs.

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