Eskom Outlines Measures to Keep the Lights On During Winter, SA Sceptical
- Eskom is planning on making sure the uninterrupted power supply continues even during winter
- The country has not had loadshedding in two weeks, and the state utility has measures in place to keep it that way
- Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena told Briefly News about what contributed to the lights staying on
- Netizens believed that this was a rouse and attributed the absence of loadshedding to the upcoming general elections
Tebogo Mokwena, Briefly News's current affairs journalist, offered coverage of current affairs like loadshedding, fuel prices and environmental affairs during his seven years at Daily Sun and Vutivi Business News.
Source: Getty Images
JOHANNESBURG – Eskom wants to ensure that the country continues its uninterrupted power supply streak as the winter season draws closer with each passing day. South Africans shrugged off the continued electricity supply as the government's attempt to get people to vote for the ruling party during the elections.
Eskom plans to keep the electricity on
According to SABC News, Eskom believes the current uninterrupted flow of electricity is due to the generation turnaround plan approved in 2023. The state-owned enterprise's board chairperson, Mthethwa Nyathi, says that Eskom has been implementing planned maintenance, and because winter is approaching, the utility will perform less maintenance. This means additional capacity would be needed to shoulder the expected winter demand.
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Eskom spokesperson speaks to Briefly News
Speaking to Briefly News, Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena discussed what contributed to the continuous electricity supply.
"Our unplanned outages have reduced, and we are returning generation units that have been on planned maintenance, increasing the available generation capacity and allowing us to replenish our emergency reserves. We are today on day 20 without implementing loadshedding, a milestone last achieved in June 2022," she said.
South Africans wary of lack of loadshedding
Netizens on Facebook were confident Eskom hadn't plunged South Africa into darkness because of the upcoming general elections on 29 May.
Renado Donel Baartman said:
"It's because of the coming general elections. High crime, crumbling infrastructure, and high unemployment are all still here."
Mothelo TheFinall Boss Rajesh said:
"After the elections, we will be getting Stage 16. They will say it's because we are in winter."
Nick West said:
"I wish elections could be postponed. I wanna see something."
Everisto Mutoko said:
"After elections, we will pay it back by experiencing an entire day without electricity."
Ustaad Abdulkadir Moalim Mohamed said:
"After elections, loadshedding will go from Stage 6 to Stage 8."
Loadshedding was announced at midnight; South Africans were angered
In a similar article, Briefly News reported that Eskom announced stage 6 loadshedding at midnight on 10 February this year.
The announcement took many by surprise, and they expressed their frustrations. Som called Eskom a thief in the night for the late-night announcement.
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Source: Briefly News
