President Cyril Ramaphosa says Eskom is doing all it can to resolve the electricity crisis in the country.
Speaking during his Presidential Imbizo in Mpumalanga, Ramaphosa says the country is unlikely to have Stage Eight power cuts.
Ramaphosa says the power utility’s management still has everything under control.
“Obviously, it’s a recurring problem with Eskom – and as we get to hear more and more, sabotage is a part of the challenges that we are having to deal with. Including the difficulties that they are having in dealing with maintenance [and] breakages. I think the management is doing everything they can to ensure they keep up with maintenance and if it breaks down they repair it very quickly.”
An additional part of their plans is beefing up the security at the Thutuka power station — after apparent acts of sabotage there.
These are among the many challenges resulting in a shortage of generation capacity.
Therefore, Eskom has announced that Stage Two rolling blackouts – between 17:00 and 22:00 – will continue this weekend.
City of Cape Town customers may stay on its Stage One schedule – between 18:00 and 20:00 — during this time.
Eskom spokesperson, Sikonathi Mantshantsha, says they’ll continue to closely monitor the system, adjust and communicate any changes.
“We currently have 3 405MW of capacity on planned maintenance, while another 15 534MW is unavailable due to breakdowns. Eskom does appeal to all South Africans to help limit the impact of load-shedding by reducing the usage of electricity and to switch off all non-essential items.”
