Kgosientsho Ramokgopa Insists Loadshedding Didn’t Reach Stage 8 Amid Reports Eskom Increased Blackouts

• Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has denied that Eskom implemented Stage 8 loadshedding without informing South Africans
• Minister Ramokgopa insisted that as far as he knew, South Africa remained on Stage 6 last week
• The electricity minister promised that he would remain brutally honest and transparent about the electricity crisis

POLOKWANE - Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has insisted that loadshedding has not exceeded Stage 6 despite reports that Eskom secretly implemented Stage 8 last week.

According to Sunday Times, the embattled power utility "silently" shed 7 072MW of electricity, pushing the country into the Stage 8 threshold of 7 001MW to 8 000MW.

Ramokgopa says Eskom didn't inform him if loadshedding reached Stage 8

However, Ramokgopa noted that he had no information from Eskom that Stage 8 loadshedding had been implemented.

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The electricity minister addressed the media at the sidelines of the ANC's national working committee meeting in Polokwane, Limpopo, on Monday, 17 April.

Ramokgopa insisted that he remained committed to being brutally honest and transparent with the South Africans about the energy crisis.

Ramokgopa said:

"I had indicated that if there is any degree of deterioration of the grid, I'll communicate that directly with the South African public."

Electricity Minister says Eskom's winter plan doesn't exceed Stage 6 loadshedding

The electricity minister added that the power utility anticipated that the country's electricity demand would rise from 30 000MW to 37 000MW in winter.

Ramokgopa added that according to Eskom's winter plan, SA is still on Stage 6 loadshedding and there are no plans to increase rolling blackouts beyond that point, TimesLIVE reported.

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Electricity minister's assurances don't convince South Africans

Below are some comments:

@LaPolymath said:

"Next thing, he'll tell us that we were last loadshed in March, as for April, it is news to him."

@BrusselMoves10 claimed:

"Bro's not in charge..."

@Stinameister criticised:

"Not even six months in a new position that was created especially for him, but he is slacking. The bar is really low for the next minister."

@Vongz97 slammed:

"Useless like the person who created the ministry position for him."

@PadiJosephPapas commented:

"It's a disaster if Eskom doesn't report to the Minister of Electricity."

@dangerous_1804 asked:

"When he sees the escalation of dark hours, what was he thinking? Stage 4!"

Eskom denies secretly implementing Stage 8 loadshedding, Mzansi calls power utility out for lying

Previously, Briefly News reported that State-owned power utility Eskom denied allegations that rolling blackouts went beyond Stage 6 last week.

This comes after TimesLIVE reported that the power utility secretly implemented Stage 8 loadshedding.

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Eskom denies secretly implementing Stage 8 loadshedding, Mzansi calls out power utility for lying

According to EWN, energy analysts noticed that Eskom shed 7 000 megawatts off the national grid, which indicated that it went above Stage 6 and possibly implemented Stage 7 or higher on Thursday, 13 April.

Source: Briefly News