SA Might Have to Go Through Winter with Unstable Electricity Supply
- Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter said that it is undesirable that the country is still going through load-shedding
- De Ruyter was speaking on the status of embattled Eskom on Monday, 15 March
- Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer revealed that Eskom may only see some stability by September
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Eskom group chief executive officer Andre de Ruyter said while speaking on the status of Eskom on Monday, 15 March that the power utility is not where it needs to be in terms of its performance.
De Ruyter said it was undesirable that load-shedding is still being implemented today. However, Eskom chief operating officer Jan Oberholzer stated that the embattled power utility might only see an increase in stability around September.
If September is the projected time, the country may have to go through the winter months with power cuts.
Source: Getty Images
According to EWN, De Ruyter says that all stations have had a decent supply of coal and that theft and vandalism are what is causing a loss of around R2 billion per year. De Ruyter added that Eskom is working closely with authorities to put an end to this.
BusinessTech reported that the power utility once again asked the people of South Africa to reduce the demand for power to help lessen the load and decrease chances or even avoid the possibility of load-shedding.
Eskom recently announced the continuation of Stage 2 load-shedding until Wednesday, 17 March. Briefly.co.za shared a post on Facebook about the announcement of load-shedding over the weekend. Take a look at the post below:
Below are just a few of the comments left by some Briefly News readers:
Candice Stevens said:
"If the president was to address the nation tomorrow...load shedding would be suspended with immediate effect."
Thubelihle Zuma wrote:
"Yoh I'm not even surprised any more. Eskom has always done this."
Ex St Dambai Qha commented:
"Its champions league tonight, bloody Eskom."
Previously, Briefly.co.za reported that Eskom needs South Africans to cough up around R1 billion per week to keep the power utility running. The power utility has a debt burden of R480 billion which it simply cannot afford unless it has a minimum income to cover its financial obligations and operate.
Parliament’s Standing Committee on Public Accounts (SCOPA) was presented with Eskom's 2020 financial results.
Lockdown had helped ease the burden of power generation a bit but 2021 is expected to be a difficult year financially for Eskom according to Business Insider.
Eskom was able to improve its debt collection from defaulting municipalities, brought the limping Kusile Unit 2 online and was able to stabilise its coal stock. This was accomplished due to R48 billion in government bailouts.
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Source: Briefly News
