Eskom said on Friday that unplanned breakdowns at its power stations are above 13GW, but it said no load shedding is expected due to reduced holiday demand for electricity.
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Police arrested two senior ex-managers at Eskom and a number of other suspects over allegations of fraud, corruption and money laundering at the Kusile power plant.
Government is reviving a so-called energy “war room” to tackle the nation’s electricity crisis, as it brought forward the date when the incoming CEO of the state power utility will start work.
Cabinet has mandated public enterprises minister Pravin Gordhan to engage the newly appointed Eskom chief executive, André de Ruyter, on the possibility on commencing in the role earlier than anticipated.
The probability of load shedding is low this week, despite a constrained and vulnerable system, Eskom said on Tuesday.
For the second year in a row, Eskom management and key staff members will not take leave in the festive season as the power utility struggles to halt power outages.
South Africa’s energy crisis eased as Eskom scrambled to repair broken plants and supplemented supply using gas turbines and pumped-storage facilities.
Eskom, South Africa’s biggest polluter, has asked for additional emission exemptions at two of its biggest plants, a request that will increase environmental protests against the state-owned utility.
President Cyril Ramaphosa cut short a trip abroad to deal with an escalating crisis at the state power company, as week-long blackouts threaten to tip the economy into recession.
Zimbabwe’s state-owned Zesa Holdings escalated power cuts to as long as 24 hours after losing regional power imports and local generation capacity remains critically constrained.