“We Can’t Praise a Fish for Swimming”: SA Government Celebrates 100 Days Without Loadshedding

• The South African government announced 100 consecutive days without loadshedding, marking a significant achievement against energy shortages
• However, netizens on X responded with scepticism and sarcasm, questioning the sustainability and cost of this stability
• Eskom attributed the success to improvements in its coal generation fleet, noting this as the longest suspension since mid-2021

Reitumetse Makwea, a Briefly News current affairs journalist in Pretoria, South Africa, has covered current affairs at The Citizen and Rekord Noweto for over five years.

The South African government proudly announced the milestone of 100 consecutive days without loadshedding.

This marked a significant achievement in the country’s ongoing battle against energy shortages.

However, netizens' reactions to X were far from uniformly positive, ranging from scepticism to outright sarcasm.

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See the post on X below:

Netizens make fun of the announcement

Despite the government's celebratory tone, public reactions to X, formerly known as Twitter, painted a different picture.

@Ori_RSA commented:

"This new admin is a troll. I am 100% sure you’re part of CBD Twitter."

Similarly, @MdkBros sarcastically remarked:

"We must clap hands for a fish that swims?"

Another critical perspective came from @qessential_pol, who asked:

"How many billions of Rands of diesel burned?"

Eskom's coal generation fleet

The power utility Eskom attributed this stable period to its efforts to improve the reliability and performance of its coal generation fleet.

According to IOL, the last time such an extended suspension occurred was from July 23, 2021, to October 6, 2021.

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Eskom spokesperson Daphne Mokwena said the past three years had been the worst for loadshedding since it began in the mid-2000s.

“Our operational efficiency continues to exceed expectations, with current unplanned outages still averaging 12,000MW, and today’s recorded at 10,839MW, well below the winter forecast."

Eskom’s new CEO tackles loadshedding, embarks on restructuring struggling power utility

Briefly News reported that new Eskom CEO Dan Marokane has been tasked with tackling several critical areas in the next 100 days.

Marokane and his team will focus on stopping loadshedding and restructuring the power utility.

The board of directors have expressed their confidence in appointing the new CEO.

Source: Briefly News