President Cyril Ramaphosa on Monday welcomed last week’s milestone of 100 days without load shedding in South Africa but cautioned that the rolling power cuts could still return.
Eskom last Friday said it has kept the power on for 100 days, the longest such period without load shedding since 2020. The reprieve comes after Eskom focused on a generation recovery plan that is paying dividends in the form of more reliable power stations.
“While this is a welcome milestone, it is not a reason to relax,” Ramaphosa wrote in his weekly online newsletter on Monday. “Our electricity system remains vulnerable, and we cannot yet rule out a possibility of further load shedding.”
“Rather, this milestone provides encouragement for us to do more and to work faster to ensure a secure supply of electricity now and into the future.”
The president’s remarks come a day after it emerged that energy minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa is seeking funding from national treasury for the construction of a 2.5GW nuclear power station in South Africa. Work has reached an advanced stage, and a team is finalising the procurement structure for the project, the Sunday Times reported at the weekend.
Also, Eskom last week successfully commissioned unit 5 at the Kusile power station, adding an additional 800MW to the grid.
“Thanks to the diligent implementation by Eskom of its generation operational recovery plan as well as a stepped-up maintenance schedule, there has been a marked improvement in the performance of the power stations that produce the bulk of South Africa’s electricity,” Ramaphosa wrote in his newsletter.
Consumer confidence
“The latest consumer confidence index compiled by the Bureau for Economic Research found that the suspension of load shedding was a factor that contributed towards increased consumer confidence in the second quarter of this year,” he added.
“This improvement is also a boost to the national economy, which is reliant on the availability and reliability of electricity supply for growth. There is cause for optimism that business and investor confidence will improve.”
Referencing the Reserve Bank’s April monetary policy review, the president wrote: “As electricity supply improves gradually, underpinned by the ongoing private investment in renewable energy generation and increased maintenance by Eskom, South Africa’s near- and medium-term outlook for growth is set to increase.”
“The Reserve Bank underscored the importance of the full implementation of energy and logistics sector reforms if growth is to improve. We are committed to continue and complete the far-reaching structural reforms we started during the sixth administration to resolve the immediate electricity supply challenges and lay the groundwork for energy security into the future,” he wrote.
“These reforms included the removal of the licensing threshold for new power generation projects, tax incentives for rooftop solar, opening more bid windows for renewable energy projects, and improving Eskom’s operational viability.
“The latest milestone reached in the structural reform journey is the commencement of trading last week of the National Transmission Company South Africa, which will own and operate the country’s national electricity transmission system. This forms part of the reforms we have been driving to establish an electricity market that will enable competition, secure supply and revolutionise the energy sector.” — © 2024 NewsCentral Media