Day 47 without load-shedding: Here's why it's been possible, says president

President Cyril Ramaphosa has dismissed suggestions reduced load-shedding is a political ploy and attributed the absence of load-shedding to the energy action plan.

For more than six weeks there has been no load-shedding, which has sparked curiosity.

Some people believe this is an elections gimmick to dupe voters, accusing government of burning billions of rand in diesel to keep the lights on during the election campaign.

Ramaphosa dismissed these claims.

“Eskom is using these peaking plants at a much lower rate than the past two years,” Ramaphosa said.

“For example, last month Eskom spent [about] half as much on diesel as it did in April 2023. Another key factor driving the reduction in load-shedding is our success in adding new generation capacity, mostly from renewable energy sources.”

Removing the licensing threshold for new power generation projects has led to significant private investment in the energy sector. There is now a pipeline of more than 130 private energy projects, representing more than 22,500MW of new capacity, some of which are already starting to connect to the grid.

“A renewed focus by Eskom on maintenance and the return to service of several units is now showing results,” Ramaphosa said.

“Losses due to unplanned outages have reduced by 9% between April 2023 and March 2024, adding the equivalent of 4,400MW of capacity to our national grid.

“Better maintained and more reliable power stations have increased the country’s energy availability factor (EAF), which is the amount of electricity available from our power stations at any given time. The EAF has been above 60% since April, compared with 53% over the same period last year.”

Ramaphosa also thanked law enforcement agencies and the National Prosecuting Authority for making strides in rooting out corruption at Eskom.

“Work is continuing in disrupting criminal syndicates and protecting our power stations from sabotage. The leadership, management and staff of Eskom, particularly the power station general managers and their teams, are to be commended for their efforts.

“The strong partnership with business and the support of other social partners has enabled the deployment of valuable resources and expertise. The stabilisation in the availability of electricity and reduction in breakdowns signal a real trend in improved plant performance.”

Tax incentives and financing options for businesses and households to install solar energy has helped alleviate pressure on the grid.

“Load-shedding has been reduced due to a combination of all of these measures: fixing Eskom, unlocking private investment in energy generation, accelerating the procurement of new capacity and supporting rooftop solar.

“We must be clear that we are not out of the woods yet. The risk of load-shedding remains. We must therefore continue to play our part by using electricity sparingly and paying for the electricity we use.

“While we have made progress in addressing the crisis, we have also put our country on a clear path towards a reliable, affordable and sustainable supply of energy.”

TimesLIVE