Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa Says It's Impossible to End Loadshedding by December

• Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Rampkgopa has done an about-turn on when loadshedding will end
• The electricity minister refutes that loadshedding will be nonexistent by December 2022 despite the ANC's claims
• Ramokgopa earlier proposed that the decommissioning of Eskom's old coal-fired power stations should be slowed down

BOKSBURG - Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Rampkgopa is seemingly changing his tune about when loadshedding may end.

Speaking at the ANC NEC meeting in Boksburg, Ramokgopa said it was technically impossible to end the crippling rolling blackouts by December 2023.

This comes after it was widely reported that Ramokgopa's energy plan aimed to see South Africa loadshedding-free by the end of the year, TimesLIVE reported.

Ramokgopa said:

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Kgosientsho Ramokgopa looks to extending lives of old Eskom power stations to end loadshedding by December

"It is also not technically possible to end load-shedding by the end of the calendar year 2023, and that’s why we are at pains to illustrate the kind of steps we are taking.”

Though the electricity minister conceded that South Africans will have to endure rolling blackouts for the foreseeable future, Ramokgopa claimed that the ministry would do everything possible to reduce the severity, reports Newzroom Afrika.

South African are fed up with the lack of progress in addressing loadshedding

Below are some comments:

Linda Skinner exclaimed:

"He has ONE job!"

Elmon Mphethi said:

"Tired of loadshedding... Argh man."

Gideon Josephs claimed:

"Never took him seriously."

Motlatjo Malatji asked:

"Did anybody expect otherwise?"

Zama Zama slammed:

"You are the Minister of Loadshedding."

Electricity minister presents energy plan to ANC's NWC

Last week, Ramokgopa presented his energy plan to the ANC's National Working Committee (NWC), outlining how he would end loadshedding.

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Among other things, Ramokgopa has proposed extending the lives of Eskom's old coal-fired power stations instead of decommissioning them.

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

In another story, 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.

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