By: Natasha Archary
President Cyril Ramaphosa says the risk of a complete grid collapse is low, although the country is in for a bleak winter.
The President was speaking at his Budget Vote address in the National Assembly on Wednesday, 31 May, where he shared a roadmap to tackling the country’s power crisis.
Ramaphosa said the debt that the power utility is facing will be subject to a R254 billion debt relief from government which comes with strict conditions.
“We are making progress in decisively addressing Eskom’s debt burden.
The 2023 Budget introduced R254 billion in debt relief to Eskom, subject t strict conditions. This will relieve pressure on the utility’s balance sheet, enabling it to conduct necessary maintenance and supporting the restructuring of the electricity market.
Finally, we are pursuing sweeping legislative reform to end the energy crisis once and for all, with the help of this house.
We have already introduced the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill, which seek to establish a competitive electricity market and support the unbundling of Eskom.
This will fundamentally transform the electricity sector as we know it, and will create a level playing field for multiple generators to participate in producing the energy that we need.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa addressing the power crisis during his Budget Vote address
With the country facing Stage 6 loadshedding indefinitely, Ramaphosa assures South Africans that the risk of a grid collapse is low, saying government is doing all it can to end loadshedding.
“We must reiterate that the risk of a national blackout remains extremely low. There are many safeguards in place to prevent such an eventuality from occurring. Loadshedding allows Eskom to keep the system in balance at all times.
We face a difficult winter ahead, as demand increases and several units at Medupi, Kusile, and Koeberg power stations are currently under repair and remain offline.”
Ramaphosa says the risk of a national grid collapse is low
Ramaphosa says the power crisis will improve towards the end of the year, but until then has called on South Africans to reduce their electricity consumption.
The President says taking simple actions like switching off appliances and lights when not in use, decreasing the temperature on geysers, installing a geyser blanket can reduce demand by 1000 MW or one full stage of loadshedding.
Also read: R21.1 billion projected Eskom financial loss only the tip of the iceberg
