By: Natasha Archary
President Cyril Ramaphosa says government has taken several important steps to address the electricity crisis.
After 45-days of consecutive loadshedding by Eskom in varying stages, the President has finally shared his thoughts on the matter.
Ramaphosa broke his silence on the past two weeks of rolling blackouts at Stage 6, where over 18,000 MW of generation capacity has escalated the power crisis.
First said to be brought on by the ‘unlawful’ strike by Eskom employees, loadshedding has been the only consistent thing the power utility has committed to.
With South Africans losing patience in both CEO Andre de Ruyter and Public Enterprises Minister, Pravin Gordhan, there’s been pressure on Ramaphosa to take action.
Offering a statement, the President on Monday, 11 July, shared that South Africans have a right to feel frustrated and angry.
“After more than a decade of electricity shortages, it can at times feel like there is no end in sight. Over the past two week, severe loadshedding has disrupted our economy and cause extreme hardship for all South Africans. While loadshedding appears to worsen, the reality is that we have already taken several important actions to address the shortfall in electricity supply.”
Ramaphosa on the electricity crisis
However, in a media briefing on Monday, Eskom shared that loadshedding will likely continue for a further 30-days. Citing a backlog in maintenance and further breakdowns as the new reasons for the shortfall.
According to Ramaphosa, the agreement reached between Eskom and labour unions will enable critical repairs and return additional units to operation.
“The transmission line from Cahora Bassa in Mozambique has been restored, adding 600 MW to the grid, and Medupi Unit 6 returned to service on Saturday, adding another 720MW. Additional units will come back online during the coming week, further easing the current shortfall.”
Also read: WATCH: Bheki Cele says people with tattoos are gangsters
