PHUTI MOSOMANE
ELECTRICITY Minister Dr Kgosientso Ramokgopa has identified poor planning, low staff morale, poor coal quality, and corruption as some of the challenges responsible for the load shedding crisis at Eskom.
Ramokgopa briefed the media on Thursday to report back on the diagnostic visits to 18 power stations conducted between 20-31 March 2023.
According to Ramokgopa, the poor quality of coal at Eskom power stations and a lack of morale among its employees were some of the urgent problems that needs to be addressed.
“Eskom is not investing in coal mines. That is why we get low quality coal in some instances. The common problem in almost all the power stations is poor planning,” said Ramokgopa.
“These problems have nothing to do with the declaration of the state of disaster. We need to invest in the quality of coal that’s being produced.”
Ramokgopa said authorities would have to reconsider the de-commissioning of some old units and extend their life span.
“Renewables are the future. But we are sitting with a crisis right now. Do you close at the current rate, or delay and refurbish,” he said.
Ramokgopa also added that the challenges faced by Eskom power stations are a result of constraints on Eskom’s balance sheet.
“We have a situation where demand far exceeds supply. That is what is facing Eskom. The quest that we are trying to do is to close that cap. I am more than confident that we have the capacity to sort out this load shedding problem. We are faced with some very difficult choices as a government. We need to have a balancing act,” said Ramokgopa.
He also said the current energy availability factor, essentially the efficiency of the operation of five units at Medupi power station in Lephalale, is about 70%.
Going into winter, he said there is a need to “ramp up generation and bring down the demand”.
Ramokgopa promised South Africans that Eskom will have an additional 2800 megawatts between now and February 2024, which will result in a drop in load-shedding by two stages.
During his visit to the power stations, Ramaokgopa told the media that he found that some stations failed because some people are using “wrong materials, cutting corners and lining their pockets.”
“I am confident that we have both the will and capacity to resolve load-shedding,” he concluded his briefing.
INSIDE POLITICS