Electricity minister, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. Photo by GCIS
Eskom‘s maintenance efforts have led to a decrease in load-shedding of 600 hours during December 2023 and January 2024, compared with the same period last year, according to Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.
Ramokgopa told a media briefing on Monday that maintenance work implemented during the two months showed that the power utility was heading in the right direction, despite having to implement stage six load-shedding on two occasions this year.
“The reduction in the intensity and frequency of load-shedding, as well as the positive energy availability factor trajectory, are real signs that there is some improvement in the performance of the generation fleet. The focus remains on sustaining this trajectory,” he said.
Ramokgopa said the debt relief of R254 billion announced last year by Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana ensured that maintenance could happen and load-shedding could be lessened.
But Godongwana has since taken a tougher stance on bailouts for state companies, proposing in this year’s budget, tabled last week, that allocations to Eskom through the debt relief programme be cut by R4 billion. The treasury said this was because of Eskom’s failure to dispose of its finance company.
On Tuesday, Ramokgopa said a portion of the fiscal support to Eskom had been strategically allocated to intensify investment in maintenance from December 2023 to January 2024.
“Traditionally in Eskom [during] the December period … you have some degree of relief on the demand side so you are using that opportunity to be aggressive on the maintenance,” he said.
Three out of five of the units at Eskom’s Kendal power station should be back online by the end of Monday, Ramokgopa added. He said planned maintenance played a significant role in ensuring that generation units performed better independently, and this ensured that units returned to service faster than before.
The planned return of units three, four and five on Monday and unit two later in the week, meant that Kendal would help reduce daytime load-shedding.
Ramokgopa said the government’s energy action plan had returned 3 510 megawatts to the grid since January last year. President Cyril Ramaphosa announced the plan last year as part of efforts to end load-shedding and achieve energy security.
This additional power was a result of maintenance, which had seen several units, including Kusile unit five, added to the grid last month, Ramokgopa said.
“The improvement of the energy availability factor and unplanned outages are a result of concerted efforts focusing on priority power stations, Kusile, Kendal, Majuba, Matla, Tutuka and Duvha, where each power station has its detailed recovery plan,” he said.
International donors have pledged $11.596 billion to fund South Africa’s transition to cleaner energy. But Eskom last week said although some of the money had arrived in the country, it was still with the treasury.
On Tuesday, Ramokgopa insisted that “we will not have a problem [with] money”.
“We are sitting with the structural problem; how we are going to access that [money],” he said.
“We are at an advanced stage. I don’t want to release the information in bits and pieces. We must complete that information internally.”