By Doreen Mokgolo
The Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, is confident that Eskom has turned the corner and is closer to a resolution to permanently rid the nation of rolling blackouts.
Ramokgopa said there has been an improvement in the performance of generation units since he took office 12 months ago, mainly due to the “aggressive maintenance” they carried out in December and early January.
He was speaking at a media briefing in Tshwane on Monday on the progress of the national grid. Also on the agenda was the progress of Eskom’s Implemented Energy Action Plan.
Ramokgopa said the National Treasury injected money into the maintenance programme which was carried out when big industries were closed for the festive season.
“We ramped the maintenance up to 9,000 megawatts and took out on average 18% of generation capacity and that was placed on planned maintenance. This was more than the 6,000 megawatts planned maintenance during the winter period,” he said.
The maintenance ensured that when Eskom returned the power generating units, they were efficient and in good order to handle the demand when big corporations re-opened at the beginning of the year.
“As a result, we experienced 600 hours less load shedding in December compared to the same period the previous year.”
The minister said Eskom expected to roll out 14,000km of power lines to accommodate new generation capacity in the Northern Cape, Eastern Cape and Western Cape where there is little or no grid capacity.
“This development will require R400-billion. Unfortunately, Eskom alone will not be able to carry the financial burden. It requires new sources of financing without relinquishing state ownership of the grid,” Ramokgopa said.
The minister said the cabinet has discussed working out ways to finance the project.
“We are not short of money. We must work out what instruments we will use to get the private sector investment into the transmission to unlock the megawatts that are there,” he said.
Pictured above: Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
Image source: Supplied
