Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramakgopa Says It's Going to Be a Difficult Winter as Eskom Struggles

• Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramakgopa says this winter is set to be really cold for South Africans
• Ramakgopa stated that citizens can expect higher stages of loadshedding as Eskom struggles to keep up with demand
• With the announcement of Stage 5 loadshedding, many people are outraged and think the minister is not helping

JOHANNESBURG - South Africans will have to brace themselves for a cold and dark winter, says Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa.

The minister warned citizens that this winter might be brutal as Eskom is expected to increase loadshedding stages.

Minister of Electricity says Eskom is struggling to meet electricity demand

Speaking in Pretoria East, at the site electricity pylons were vandalised, Ramakgopa stated that Eskom is having difficulty keeping up with electricity demand due to multiple breakdowns.

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The minister explained that the grid deficit is usually at 6 000 megawatts in the summer, but in winter, it is expected to go up to 37 000 megawatts, reports EWN.

"When we go into winter, the peak can go up to 37 000 megawatts. But at the current rate of trips and failures, it's going to be an exceptionally difficult winter," said Ramakgopa.

However, the electricity minister stated that the power utility is doing its best to avoid a "worst-case scenario".

Minister Ramakgopa says fixing loadshedding requires money

Ramapkgopa stated the government needed to put in money to fix the power crisis because of the impact loadshedding has on the economy.

According to BusinessLIVE, the minister said he would submit his approach to ending loadshedding at the end of April, including a plan to increase the national grid capacity.

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South Africans react to increasing stages of loadshedding

Many South Africans are unhappy that loadshedding has been pushed to Stage 5. On Wednesday, 12 April, Eskom announced that Stage 5 rolling blackouts would be implemented indefinitely.

Here are some comments:

@MohanlallSuresh said:

"Shem, poor-rich Minister of Electricity, had a good old jol for one month and now tells us the exact same thing that De Ruyter told us. Be prepared to shiver this entire winter. Cyril, please scrap this ministry quickly. We told you so."

@Lush46587 said:

"Where are all the people who were so happy with De Ruyter being fired and happy for the Minister of Electricity?"

@tpgbru said:

"Uhm we are in winter now #ESKOM! The demand is going to get much higher (Logical) Please don't give us kak updates. We want to know when you going to fix what needs to be fixed. We are not interested in lip service. You have a new Electricity minister @Kgosientsho_R. Fix it! Tsjek!"

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Ramokgopa says he’s working to close supply and demand gap as power crisis brings SA’s economy to its knees

Briefly News previously reported that Electricity Minister Kgosientho Ramokgopa had reaffirmed his commitment to providing South Africans with stable electricity, given the dire impact loadshedding has on SA's economy.

At a media briefing about his visits to SA's embattled power stations last month, Ramokgopa said the electricity crisis is bringing the country's economy to its knees.

The electricity minister explained that one of the reasons the country is experiencing the routine rolling blackouts is that the electricity demand was high while the supply stayed low, eNCA reported.

Source: Briefly News