President Cyril Ramaphosa: Eskom’s Improved Performance Keeps Lights On for 6 Weeks
- President Cyril Ramaphosa has attributed the last six weeks with no scheduled power cuts to the improved performance of Eskom stations
- Ramaphosa said the Energy Action Plan reduced power cuts and added over 4,000 megawatts to the national grid
- He said the country’s Energy Availability Factor has been above 60% since April 2024, compared to 53% over the same period in 2023
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Zingisa Chirwa is an experienced Briefly News journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, who has covered current affairs on radio for over 15 years.
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The country’s lights have stayed on for about a month and a half, a sign of the improved performance of Eskom’s power stations.
President Cyril Ramaphosa lauds EAP
This is according to President Cyril Ramaphosa's Weekly Newsletter released on 13 May 2024.
Ramaphosa said that while it was premature to announce an end to loadshedding, implementing the Energy Action Plan reduced power cuts.
The president said over 4,000 megawatts were added to the national grid and unplanned blackouts dropped by 9% between April 2023 and March 2024.
He said this led to the country’s Energy Availability Factor being above 60% since April 2024, compared to 53% over the same period in the previous year.
An energy analyst, however, told Briefly News that the stable power supply was due to an exodus of electricity users from the Eskom grid.
Netizens weigh in
Many South Africans weren't convinced and believed the lack of loadshedding was linked to the upcoming General Election.
@RNaidoo said:
“Tired SA'ns are counting down for change come 29/05/24.”
@lukevanin added:
“Thanks, Cyril. Looking forward to sitting through Stages 8 to 12 in the middle of winter.”
@matzuks asked:
“Excellent news, Mr Comrade Cyril, sir. Can you share the improvement metrics? Or is the improvement just for election month?”
@Vusi commented:
“Very convenient, especially with elections around the corner. It could have been done earlier, surely.”
@MichaelGebremar said:
“Well done. Credit where credit is due.”
SARB predicts 200 days without power in the remainder of 2024
Briefly News reported that the South African Reserve Bank predicted 200 days of loadshedding for the remainder of 2024.
The SARB’s comments follow over a month without the scheduled power cuts due to sustained generation capacity. Many citizens expected the power outages to return after the 29 May 2024 General Election.
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Source: Briefly News
